


From Mother to Son

by kittencandyuchiha



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheating, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Major Illness, Male Homosexuality, Marriage of Convenience, Possible Character Death, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-08-29 03:45:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16736484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittencandyuchiha/pseuds/kittencandyuchiha
Summary: Everything in Tamaki Suoh's life seems to be going down hill after he found out that he has the same illness as his mother. He turns to his best friend for support and comfort, but now even that is being taken away after an arraigned married to Éclair and early graduation. Rewrite of When All Good Things Come to an End.





	1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own Ouran and if you're not interested in a long AN feel free to skip it!

This is a rewrite of When All Good Things Come to an End that I started quite a few years ago. I pulled the story down about 3 months ago to completely rewrite it and I decided to post the finished product under a new title since you really can't compare the two any longer.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY BETE READER Wolfena! They are amazing, and I couldn't have done this without them!

Please enjoy!

0o0o0

The Shadow King of the Host Club looked down at his breakfast with disinterest as he tried to slow his racing mind. Kyoya had known that there was something wrong as Tamaki had not been acting like himself for the last few months. He never could have imagined that the blonde could take things this far.

He was eating alone this morning. His father and older brothers were already at the Tokyo hospital, overseeing the staff to ensure that things were treated discreetly and appropriately. It wasn't every day that the son of one of their most vital business partners was in their emergency room.

It wasn't every day that Kyoya fucked up so bad his best friend landed in the hospital.

He ran a hand through his dark hair as he recalled the events of the earlier weeks with startling accuracy. He had thought nothing of it when Tamaki had suggested they host an intimate get-to-gather with the host club and a few of their regulars.

Tamaki had never been a big party boy but in the weekends leading up to last night, they had been out together nearly every night until the early hours. Drinking and enjoying the company of woman until they stumbled home to sleep through the day just to do it again the next night.

Kyoya hadn't thought anything of it, until last night that is… He figured Tamaki was under a lot of pressure and was just trying to let off some steam. He wasn't going to complain about the extra alone time with the blonde and had silently accompanied him to ensure he didn't do anything stupid.

Since Haruhi had joined the host club, 'mommy' and 'daddy' had been spending less and less of their weekends together. Every scrap of free time was spent 'as a family' with the rest of the hosts. He had enjoyed not having to plan anything, just doing whatever it was that they pleased. Kyoya was aware that his best friend was drinking too much and sleeping more than usual, but he hadn't thought that there was anything extremely wrong.

Kyoya was always careful as he always kept an eye out for anything that could cause a problem for the two of them. He made sure they were never too far gone before safely collapsing in bed together…

He was the responsible one.

Until last night. The party was a hit with the ladies. Tamaki had received permission to host the event at the Suoh family second estate and he had spared no expense in certifying all who attended would have a good time.

It was the middle of summer and the small group of Ouran's elite were enjoying the swimming pool and hot tub at the back of the house. Between the extra skin and the booze, the night was turning out to be particularly enjoyable for all that were involved. Even Haruhi had come out of her shell and was enjoying fancy tuna as she chatted with her tipsy regulars.

Kyoya could swear that Tamaki had only had a few drinks.

When they had slipped upstairs with two of their regulars following close behind, he had seemed fine. The shadow king hadn't noticed him slurring his speech or stumbling as they climbed the stairs.

He had no issue plowing the daughter of one of his father's company's biggest clients until she was seeing stars. And he certainly didn't act drunk as he and Kyoya had slipped into the bathroom together…

He had seemed fine when 'mommy' had helped 'daddy' clean up afterward.

Kyoya hadn't noticed anything wrong until they were back downstairs in the hot tub. Somehow, they had managed to fit the 7 hosts along with their 14 guests into a hot tub meant for 12 people.

The King of the Host Club had rested his head on Kyoya shoulder, drawing more attention than it should have. Kyoya had slid his index finger under the blonde's chin to force eye contact, causing a few of the girls to squeal in delight.

Lilac eyes were unfocused as they met gunmetal grays.

"Are you feeling ok? Did you have too much to drink?" the Shadow King tried to assess his friend and the girls quieted down, watching with concern as Tamaki shook his head.

"No. I think the heats getting to me… mind helping me up?" Kyoya nodded. The girls sitting in both of their laps moved into the center of the hot tub to allow them space to climb out of the water. They didn't make it more than a few paces before Tamaki had collapsed, hitting his head hard against the pavement he had started to convulse.

The next 5 minutes felt as though they had lasted for hours. The music stopped and every pair of eyes fell on them. Not one of them moved as Kyoya knelt beside the blonde on the hard concrete. His head was racing a million miles an hour as his mouth barked commands without his brain having time to process.

"Twins. Clear everyone out. Haruhi. Call an ambulance. Mori, towels. Hunny. Please get the head maid and have her call Tamaki's Father. Let her know an ambulance has been called." He commanded, his voice sounding distant to his own ears.

After tucking the folded towel under the blonde's head, Kyoya knew there was nothing else he could do. He waited for the jerking of limbs to settle before placing his ear on the blonde's chest.

He had thanked God that his friend had still been breathing.

The ladies had been ushered inside and were watching through the large glass windows with a mix of concern and curiosity. When the paramedics arrived, the Shadow King reluctantly stepped back from his friend to allow them to do their work.

"Has he been drinking tonight sir?"

"Yes."

"How much did he consume?"

"Only a couple of drinks over the last few hours."

"You're not going to get in trouble kid. We just want to help your friend. Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Did he take anything else that you are aware of?"

"I didn't see him take anything."

"Okay kid. Go wait with your friends. We got it from here."

Kyoya had numbly joined the rest of the Host Club inside. All were silent as they watched Tamaki get loaded onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Parents were called and one by one their guest left what should have been an enjoyable event.

The twins had given him a lift home after they had done their best to help the maids clean up the mess. He didn't so much as get in the door before his father had called him asking him what had happened.

Tamaki had had another seizure and they were in the process of pumping his stomach. He had wanted to know if he had taken anything. Any party dugs.

Kyoya hadn't seen anything like that, he would know. He had been with Tamaki since they had gotten out of school. The blonde had complained of legs being sore after gym class and had taken regular Tylenol but that had been over 8 hours ago…

His father had hung up on him without saying anything further.

How could he have been so careless? Surely, he should have noticed that there was something wrong before it went that far.

He hadn't heard a thing about Tamaki since then. Instructions were sent to the maids that Kyoya was to attend classes, as usual, this morning rather than going to visit Tamaki in the hospital. He had texted the blonde as soon as he had woken up over an hour ago.

No response…

Kyoya hated himself as he pushed his breakfast around the plate and watched the black screen of his phone in hopes of good news.

He was supposed to be the responsible one.

0o0o0

Yuzuru Suoh had been in bed when his personal assistant had woken him by turning on his bedside lamp. He felt his heart sink as she handed him the telephone, her face grave.

He now sat in the sterile looking room of the ER, waiting for someone to take him to see his son. He hadn't been given much information as to what had happened to his poor Tamaki. Only that he had been brought in with suspected alcohol poising and they were still running tests.

His Tamaki was a good boy so he had a hard time believing that his knucklehead of a son would do something so reckless. He hoped that it was just an overreaction to his son having a little much to drink. He hoped that he would wait a few hours for the boy to sobered up before they went home.

Surly Tamaki wasn't so stupid as to actually drink enough to harm himself.

As he sat and waited, he texted Yoshio Ootori a friendly message in hopes that he could pull some strings and get him a little more information. He hadn't expected for his friend to come through the ER doors only minutes later.

"What were my chances that you were actually still here? It's one in the morning, my friend." Yuzuru stood and shook hands with his childhood friend.

"I was on my way out when I got the call that Tamaki was on his way in. I am afraid that your son is very ill, Suoh. Yuuichi is on his way in to personally oversee his care. For now, the doctors are stabilizing him and running tests."

The head of the Ootori family opened the emergency room doors for Tamaki's father and led him to one of the doors across from the nurse's station.

For it being so late at night it was rather loud. The hospital staff were bustling in and out the many open doors that lined the hallways. The sounds of carts, wheelchairs, and sneakers would be enough to keep anyone awake.

They soon made it halfway down the long hallway and stopped at the room directly across from the nurse's station. Yuzuru felt his stomach start to flip as stepped aside to let someone out of the room.

He truly hoped to find his boy vomiting but conscious.

As he stepped into the cramped room, his eyes settled on his baby boy. Tamaki laid on the small hospital bed hooked up all sorts of machinery. This was not what he had been expecting.

"What the hell happened?"

He was not mentally prepared for this. This is not what he thought of when he thought of alcohol poisoning. He thought of teens puking their brains out and sleeping in strange places. Not heart monitors and oxygen support.

"The paramedics on scene say that they were called after Tamaki had collapsed and had a seizure. They suspected it to be alcohol poisoning as there was alcohol present and he had been drinking before the accident." Yoshio paused and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We sent some blood down to be tested. If that's all this is then he is going to be ok. We pumped his stomach and we'll make sure he doesn't stop breathing."

The robotic, monotone way that Yoshio spoke was oddly comforting. However, it was not enough to set the Chairmen's mind at ease.

"Alcohol poisoning can do that? Cause a seizure?" Yuzuru's eyes were fixed on his little boy. His poor baby.

"It's not common, but yes." Silence fell between the two of them as they watched the sleeping boy's chest fall up and down. That brought the slightest bit of comfort to the concerned father.

"Can I go sit with him?"

"Of course you can."

0o0o0

Tamaki's eyes fluttered open to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling.

The back of his head pounded in protest to the bright artificial light but he forced his eyes to focus on his surroundings. Turning his head to the side he felt his heart skip a beat.

He was in a hospital?

In a panic, he made a move to push himself up onto his elbows only to be stopped by a heavy hand pressing on the center of his chest.

Yuuichi Ootori, Kyoya's older brother, stood to the left side of his bed with a slightly annoyed look on his face. The blonde settled back against the overstuffed pillows as he felt his panic fade.

"You gave us quite the scare last night you know." The eldest of the Ootori children forced a small smile for the blonde. "Once we finish up running the last few tests to ensure that there is no lasting damage, I am going to recommend you for a stay in one of our rehab facilities. I am sure your father has more than a few—"

"What!?" Tamaki made another move to sit up, only to be gently stopped by the eldest of the Ootori boys again.

As soon as he was sure that his patient was not going to try and sit up again, Yuuichi adjusted his glasses and grabbed the clipboard that hung from the bottom of the bed. "Of course, you wouldn't remember what happened now would you."

Yuuichi flipped the first page of the chart up. "You were brought it with a bad case of Alcohol poising. How much did you have to drink?"

Tamaki blinked, clueless for a moment as he tried to recall the events of last night only to fail. "I uh… don't remember." It made sense… his entire body was hurt, his head was pounding, and he felt exhausted.

Had he really been so stupid?

"We followed the usual procedure for suspected cases of alcohol poisoning. We pumped your stomach and made sure you didn't stop breathing. The blood results didn't come back that the alcohol content in your blood was over the legal limit, however. Did you take anything while you were drinking that may have caused a reaction?"

"I don't remember." Yuuichi continued to scribble away on the clipboard.

"We didn't detect any of the usual things the kids seem to be using these days. No one saw you take anything. We're going to wait for the last few tests to come back before we release you then." There was a long pause while he finished writing. "I'm thinking it was just a bad reaction to the alcohol..."

Flipping the pages back down, Yuuichi forced another small smile and adjusted his glasses again before excusing himself, closing the door behind him.

This was just perfect.

The panic started to rise again as he realized just what this meant for him. He would no doubt be reprimanded by his grandmother… His father would be disappointed in him but hopefully wouldn't make too big of a deal out of the situation. Tamaki had always been responsible with his drinking in the past.

Sure, he had been doing a lot more of it recently but he never thought he could get himself in so much trouble.

He probably got everyone else in trouble to…

Everyone knew what went on at the parties thrown by the Ouran elite. Parents trusted their children not to get into any trouble or take things too far. So much for that…

Tamaki told himself that worrying about it was not going to help. He eventually fell back asleep. His sore body and headache did a respectable job of keeping him out of a deep sleep, however.

He had never had a hangover so bad that he was in this much pain. The slightest movement caused discomfort. When coupled with the constant hum of activity on the other side of the door it was nearly impossible.

If this is what it felt like to drink too much, he was never going to do it again. Lesson learned. This was almost unbearable.

Too soon, the blonde was jolted awake when he felt something warm touch his feet. He instantly regretted sitting up so fast. His vision went momentarily black and his joints ached in protest of the sudden movement.

"Calm down son." Tamaki turned his head before his vision was completely clear and felt relieved when he could see his father's kind face staring back at him. He had stood from his seat in the corner of the room and came to place a hand on his boy's shoulder. The small comfort was a welcome one.

Yoshio Ootori stood at the bottom of the bed watching the foot that had nearly kicked him in the face cautiously. Tamaki was surprised to see him there.

"How long have your feet been swelling Tamaki?"

The blonde blinked a few times, pulled out of his musing by the unexpected question, before looking down at his feet. He wrinkled his nose. Ew.

He had stopped his morning runs to give his body a break around a month ago when he had noticed his feet swelling and his knees and ankles started aching.

He hadn't thought it concerning, brushing it off as an active lifestyle and growing pains. It had happened countless times before and a few days of rest usually did the trick. "Maybe a month… is something wrong?"

"Not necessarily. Any joint pain?"

"Yes. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and they told me to rest until it went away." Yoshio cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. Tamaki didn't miss the glare he shot his eldest. Yuuichi had been his doctor since he had moved to Japan.

"Joint pain is not common in boys your age. How often do you experience this?"

"It's come and gone since before I got to Japan."

"Alright. Can you tell me what joints are most commonly affected? Is it larger joints like your knees, hips, or shoulders? Or small joints like in the fingers and feet?" Yoshio's voice did not waiver from the calm monotone that Tamaki was used to.

He didn't know if he should be concerned by these questions, but his palms were starting to sweat. What did any of this have to do with alcohol poisoning?

Tamaki hesitated for a moment before answering. "It's ah… different every time. Right now, my legs hurt pretty bad but I can also feel it in my shoulders and hands." The blonde felt his father squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.

"Have you noticed that when you experience these pains that you have less energy than usual?" The patriarch of the Ootori family started to scribble quickly on a pad of paper he had pulled out of his breast pocket.

Was scribbling good?

"Yeah. I usually just try and sleep it off. It goes away in a couple days."

"That was a good call on your part. This time when you noticed the joint pain and swelling the extra sleep didn't help?" Tamaki shook his head no in response and the room felt momentarily silent while Yoshio handed the pad of paper over to Yuuichi.

"Order these tests. Stop the IV fluids until we get the results."

Turning back to face the blonde he gave a reassuring smile to Tamaki and his father. "It seems we may have been too hasty in diagnosing the cause of the seizure last night. Hopefully, we will have a definitive answer for you within a few hours."

Tamaki felt his heart sink, seeing the worry that painted his father face was intolerable.

The Ootori excused themselves, leaving Yuzuru and his son alone in the suddenly small room. Rather than staring at each other, they both glanced around the room while trying to find their words.

When their eyes did nervously meet again, neither could manage a sentence.

After a short while, two nurses walked into the room. Their kind voices and cheerful faces went a long way in lessening the tension that was building in the room.

Tamaki was not too fond of needles but didn't protest the blood sample being taken. The IV that had made its happy home in the back of his hand was removed and the blonde was helped out of bed and into the bathroom to give a urine sample.

Thankfully the nurses were happy to allow Tamaki to brush his teeth and wash his face while he was in there before tucking him back into the hospital bed. The warm water running against his hands and splashing against his face went a long way in helping him calm his nerves.

His father had again taken a seat in the chair that was pulled up to the side of his son's bed. Tamaki hated the look of worry on the man's face as he watched him. He hated being the cause of that worry…

Alcohol poisoning happened to dumb kids. That hadn't been scary after Tamaki had woken up. Having a random seizure? Terrifying to the both of them. There was nothing they could do except wait.

0o0o0

If you liked it or hated please feel free to let me know what you think! I am always trying to improve myself and my writing!


	2. Chapter 2

AN:I do not own Ouran.

0o0o0

Tamaki picked up on the sound of the door being pushed open but he didn't bother to sit up or open his eyes. His head felt heavy from the medications that were flowing into his arm from the IV drip attached to his bed. He listened to the sound of dripping coming from the IV bag.

He focused on the sound of the heavy footfalls of his father coming to visit him before he went home for the night. He could tell it was him. The pace at which his feet hit the ground and the way his shoes clicked against the smooth hospital floors were evidence enough. He knew the only one who would be coming to see him this late would be his father as the nurses let him sleep unless they were called for.

The moonlight peeked in around the blinds that seemed to be permanently pulled closed these days. It gave the scantest amount of light that was quickly choked out by the hot glow of the exit sign that hung above the entrance of the room. It made his head pound just peeking his eyes open to see the sad expression on the man's face. It appears there was a now permanent scowl that never left…

He hated it. He appreciated that his father went so far out of his way to be near him but it left him with a heavy guilt, knowing that he was the cause of his own father's distress.

"I know that you're up, Tamaki." He spoke in a hushed tone, edging with exhaustion. He sat in the only chair in the room. The deafening sound of metal against tile as he pulled it forward, causing him to grit his teeth as the pounding in his skull intensified.

"It's too bright…" The blonde's voice came out much rougher than he had expected. He swallowed a few times to moisten his throat. He craved water.

"The lights are turned off, son." Yuzuru Suoh sighed, shutting his eyes. He looked away for a moment, the wall becoming a much more interesting sight. It wasn't easy to see his baby boy like this.

A single violet eye peeked open but was immediately shut. He didn't know why that type of light was so hard on him. The lights from the exit sign were far too bright for his liking. It didn't seem to bother anyone else but it was a serious distraction and discomfort to his gentle eyes. "What about your business trip? You said yesterday-"

"Don't worry about it." Tamaki's father replied, laying a hand on his forehead and rubbing his temples, a headache of his own forming. He shifted in his chair, making it squeak again.

"A little birdy told me that your meeting is with the Tonair family… That's not something you want to do on no sleep dad." His father sighed and the blonde continued. "I'll be fine for a few days on my own, you know."

When Tamaki had lived in France with his mother, he had only seen his father a few times a year. Even after he left his mother and moved to Japan, he would still only see his father a few times a month. Most often when he stopped by the second mansion to have dinner with his son when his schedule allowed him that luxury. Since his health had started failing, it had become a twice a day ritual.

"You shouldn't have to be alone." Tamaki turned his head to face his father and opened both of his eyes. He ignored the stabbing sensation that started up in the back of his head and focused on his father's tired face. Observing him closely, he could see that he was clearly exhausted. His once perfectly kept hair was disheveled. His suit that was always crisp and clean, was wrinkled. His father was always in tip-top shape no matter what was happening. Last few weeks he began to slowly lose focus of himself. He focused all of his attention on his son.

"I have friends you know. We have friends… our family does… We don't have to deal with this all on our own." He tried to smile but he wasn't sure if he had quite pulled it off. His father stood and paced across the room and he felt himself beginning to worry about the man's wellbeing.

"I know son. But your grandmo-"

"You didn't care what grandmother thought when you took over the company. Why do you care now?" Tamaki cut his father off mid-thought. Yuzuru stopped his pacing and stared at the covered window. He could see his son's expression out of the corner of his eye. The hopeful look that had just painted his face only moments before had changed to one of frustration.

"Tamaki… She's right about this." He had tried his hardest to explain to the boy what something like this could do to their stock prices. They were still taking measures to lessen the blow.

"It's not fair," Tamaki said, careful not to raise his voice. Throwing a fit like a child hadn't worked so far and he doubted it was going to start now. There were a few times in his life where he was legitimately angry with his father. He had always found it easier to let those feelings go and simply forgive people. Usually, they never meant to upset him… His father hated seeing him lonely and scared.

He was so damn lonely though, and he had far too much time to ponder on the feelings of isolation and pin the blame onto others.

He loved his father but there was only so much comfort he could give. "I hear you and grandmother talking about the rumors going around… People are going to find out eventually."

"Yes." He said while he started to pace around the room again. Tamaki was getting annoyed. He closed his eyes again and started to fiddle with the edge of his blanket. "I think the best thing for you right now is to get some rest. I should be going, son."

Without turning to look at the fragile boy, who laid in the plain white hospital bed connected to countless wires and needles, a heavyweight of dread and guilt rested on his shoulders. He couldn't bring himself to look back in his direction. Yuzuru Suoh stopped at the door with his hand on the knob.

The hot light of the exit sign was hard for Tamaki to look at and so he rolled onto his side facing away from the door. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; his shoulders shook and tears threatened to fall from his once princely eyes. The blonde wouldn't let himself cry though. He pulled the thin blanket close to his body.

Biting his bottom lip, he muttered a simple "Night dad." While he waited for the agonizing sound of the door clicking shut and for the loneliness to overwhelm him.

"I'm sorry... I know it's hard right now." There was a long silence and Tamaki didn't bother to lighten the mood or think of anything clever to say. His lack of answer left them with a suffocating silence. Yuzuru lowered his head in defeat and grabbed ahold of the silver handle. Stepping into the brightly lit hallway he left the dim quite room behind.

Tamaki was achy and tired and upset and knew it was going to be another long night. After his attempts failed to drift off into the world of dreams, he called for the nurse and asked for sleeping pills.

Usually, he was so exhausted from his illness that he could sleep all day if he was allowed, but he was on the verge of hysterics. Panic attacks, the doctors called them. Whatever they were, he had never suffered them until a few months ago. The woman took one look at the teens shaking frame and walked back out of the room. The blonde knew it would take a while so he focused on his breathing.

Tamaki wasn't sure what was causing him to feel this way, this terrible heaviness of anger and frustration. For the last few days his pain had been very minimal compared to the what the bad days were like, and he was sure that was going to be discharged soon. If he could keep his emotions under control that is.

It had been 7 months since the had started to notice that he wasn't feeling quite like himself. 6 months since he had been in school. 4 months since he was diagnosed with the same illness that had eventually led to his mother's death. It was devastating news for the Suoh group and they were doing a hell of a job keeping it a secret.

Tamaki understood.

He was the only son and he was hardly considered to be the legitimate heir. The blonde was a bastard child, but he was Yuzuru's only son. The Suoh group has been working hard for 4 years to groom him into a man worthy to take over the family's fortune.

Now he was dying so he pretty much flushed all their efforts.

Oops.

He wasn't married. He had no children. He wasn't even out of high school. he was a young child with a beautiful face and a love for making people smile. Unfortunately, that didn't count in his favor as smiles didn't run companies or make good business decisions. So, when the news got out, things were going to get turbulent very quickly.

Tamaki understood. But he was lonely and he hadn't seen any of his friends in months. He was overwhelmed and exhausted and he had no one to lean on or talk to except for his father.

He missed the host club, his home away from home. Where he could steal the hearts of young girls but also find himself in the middle of another one of the devil twins' schemes of trouble. The Host Club and his fellow friends and members that had been there for him through the hardest parts of his life.

They were the first real friends he had made when he moved to Japan. They were the ones who stopped him from agreeing to marry Éclair. They had made sure he had gotten to see his mother one last time. They had also been the ones who had been with him when he had gotten the call that his mother had passed away. They had gone to the funeral with him.

They were his family and he needed them. He would feel so much better if he could just be with them.

He kept himself up late at night thinking about if Haruhi was all right. If the twins were pestering her or if there was still tension between the two even now after all this time. He worried about Hunny and Mori in there last year of school. If they were stressed about finals.

He missed Kyoya especially.

Kyoya was more than just his best friend and his confidant. Kyoya was always on his mind, a constant tug-of-war on whether or not he was okay, getting along with his father. If he was focusing on his studies, burying himself in books and the club budget. He was worried that the Shadow King was going to be mad about not telling him all that was going on... He knew that he hated being out of the loop.

It was silly, Tamaki knew, to think that Kyoya would be upset with him for being sick. But he just couldn't help it. The isolation of being in such a small room, lying in bed all day, gave him far too much time on his hands.

Soon the nurse walked back into the room with the two little pills that were going to help him not think any longer. He slowly took the little plastic cups that the medication was always dispensed in. He drank the entire glass of water before giving the woman a warm smile.

He settled back and she closed the door behind her with a soft click. Tamaki was left sitting in the not quite dark enough room, alone. Again.

0o0o0

Yuzuru practically threw himself down in his chair on the plane. Yoshio and his mother had been waiting for him for over an hour. He, of course, was the one making them all run late. Again.

No one dared to say anything to him, however. They knew why he was running late.

As the jet made its ascent into the late-night sky of Japan, they watched from the windows as the structures and roads of their beloved country grew smaller and smaller. Yuzuru paid close attention to their surroundings, watching as the jet made its way higher into the cloudless sky and took in the bright stars and the shining half-moon. However, as he looked at that very same moon, it had reminded him of his wife, of her always shining eyes, the way they dazzled him. And of Tamaki, who shares his mother's beautiful eyes.

The seat belt sign of the luxury jet chimed at the passengers as they were now free to move about the cabin. They quickly began to spread out. It was going to be a long flight to France. Yuzuru's first time being back there since his wife's funeral. He watched as Yoshio chose a seat closer to the front of the plane. While his mother, with her allergy to any sort of emotion, made sure to leave the other two occupants alone and sat further back.

Yoshio was also allergic to feelings, but he was not about to leave his childhood friend alone. He too had a son Tamaki's age and could imagine what he must be going through.

Yoshio had been smart however, he had had three sons before his wife had passed.

If all he had to worry about was passing on the business to a different child, he wouldn't be anywhere near as stressed out as he was now. This horrid secret, keeping and isolating Tamaki, was making him feel guilty. He wished he could just crawl in a hole and sleep for years. He wanted to make Tamaki happy. As happy as he could be with all that was going on. Yuzuru was doing the opposite by keeping him locked away like some prisoner.

He was the worst father.

The silence hung over the room like a heavy smoke, even the flight attendant was reserved and quiet. It wasn't until he got through one and a half bottles of wine that Yoshio cleared his voice.

"Drowning yourself in wine won't help. You are only going to be hungover and depressed." He was looking at his laptop, the glare of the screen reflected off his glasses effectively masking his eyes.

"You say that now, but you're not the one drinking," Yuzuru replied, his voice a bit angry. He ran his fingers through his slightly greasy hair and sighed. He was a hot mess.

"I will be saying it tomorrow morning too when you are looking for the aspirin," Yoshio stated. His observation had been snarky like every other medical practitioner he's encountered in the last few weeks. "I personally would rather be just depressed without the hangover."

He closed his laptop and placed in on a nearby table. Yoshio crossed the jet and placed himself across from Yuzuru and looked into his eyes. He was obviously drunk. Kyoya's father leaned across the table and poured himself a glass of wine. "Talk."

Yuzuru didn't speak for a moment as he watched Yoshio pour red wine into a tall glass. "I don't want to leave him all by himself."

"Is that all?" Yoshio responded immediately, his tone as emotionless as his facial expression. As if the situation irked him in some way.

"My poor boy is sitting in a hospital bed all by himself and I won't be back for a week. He won't have anyone to talk to. He will be completely alone."

Yoshio didn't even bat an eyelash as he sipped his wine.

"You know, Suoh. My two older boys are aware of the situation. Kyoya has been reporting on the rumors going on at school. He isn't entirely aware of what's happening, but he has an idea. It takes one phone call and I am sure he will be in that hospital room in a heartbeat. He is quite fond of your son." He takes another sip of wine as he watched Yuzuru think for a moment.

"Your boy can keep the secret?"

"He is my son. He knows the Ootori group will suffer if this news gets out prematurely."

"Thank you."

0o0o0

Kyoya wasn't sure why there was a maid in his room at 2 am but it took everything he had not shout at the elderly woman. Having finally finished with his exams he was excited to have the chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

"Your father is calling for you. He is on hold in your office and he says that it is very important." She says, her voice gentle but also fearful at the same time. The house knows the legends of the Shadow King and his vengeful outbursts when awoken. Getting out of bed, it took every ounce of will he had to march over to his office that was connected to his bedroom.

Kyoya picks up the phone and held it up to his ear, stifling a yawn. "Hello, father."

"Tomorrow at noon I have arranged for you to visit with Tamaki. Your eldest brother will fill you in more at breakfast." Yoshio explained, getting straight to the point. As he listened to his father's instructions, Kyoya felt his stomach drop. As of now, he had been cut off from knowing the blonde's whereabouts for months. He had not been able to see Tamaki since the accident and his family had been doing a wonderful job of keeping him out of the loop.

"Yes, father." He replied, his fingers gripping the phone tightly.

"Good. Now get some rest. You're going to need it." The phone connection cut out and Kyoya was standing in the dark room in complete silence.

Laying the phone back down onto the receiver, he patted back out of his office and over to his bed. He pulled the covers over his head and clutched one of his over-stuffed pillows to his chest. Sleep wasn't going to come easy for him tonight with the way his mind was racing.

Kyoya hadn't received a single text or email from the blonde. Tamaki had effectively and efficiently fallen off the radar and that was not an easy thing to do with Kyoya. After the night of the party when the King of the host club was carted away in an ambulance, none of them had heard a thing.

They didn't know if Tamaki didn't want to see them. If he had been sent off by his grandmother to a reformatory as some sort of punishment. They had never gotten any confirmation that Tamaki was ok or if the seizer had caused some sort of permanent damage.

He wasn't sure why his father was sending him to go and see his best friend but he was not going to turn this opportunity down.

0o0o0

Please review


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Ouran

0o0o0

Tamaki was going to get to go home today. They were going to wait for all of his prescriptions to be filled and for his last set of blood tests to come back, but they were finally sending him home. This latest stunt in the hospital had lasted nearly 3 months as he had required near daily dialysis due to a reduced kidney function.

Luckily his immune system had calmed down with the newest cocktail of medications they had him on and his kidney functions were returning to normal. He wasn't having as many bad days and the doctors were confident that he would be ok to only come in for twice weekly appointments. At home, he would have his sweet dog Antoinette and his Staff to keep him company

One of the medications was giving him quite a few migraines but he would take that over his body trying to destroy its self. Currently, his eyes were still a little sensitive to the artificial lights but not so much that he would rather sit in a dark room.

He had woken up around nine this morning and was happy to be nearly headache free. He wasn't brave enough to watch the television but he was reading one of the Shoujo manga that the nurses had brought him. He distantly listened to the sound of the busy hallway, calming him.

The one thing he didn't mind about being in the hospital was that there was always something going on. Currently, he could hear the newest residences following Yuuichi around for orientation. They hadn't yet mastered their hospital indoor voices so he could nearly hear their entire conversation.

Yuuichi was being groomed to take over for his father once he chose to retire. As he wasn't planning to retire any time soon, Yuuichi spent the majority of his day running the emergency department when he wasn't shadowing his father at meetings. Yuuichi had told him that once Akito, the middle son, graduated medical school and completed his residency, he would be doing the same. Tamaki thought it would be funny to see the two working together.

The blonde had spent a lot of time at the Ootori household and had gotten to know Kyoya and his older brothers rather well. Yuuichi and Akito had grown up thick as thieves. They were close in age and had a similar sense of humor. Akito really looked up to his older brother and was studying hard to help support him in his role as the future head of the family.

It was probably a good thing that Yuuichi was born first. He would take over all of the administrative duties, while Akito would be the man on the ground, actually working hands-on in their facilities.

Tamaki actually thought it would be best if Kyoya had been born first.

Not that his older brothers wouldn't do well running the company. Tamaki knew his best friend would do amazing things if he was given half a chance. He had seen firsthand what Kyoya could do, and the Shadow King of the host club was probably the smartest person he knew.

Tamaki tried to refocus himself on his book. Yuuichi had led the group of new residents further up the hallway and he couldn't catch enough of the conversation for it to hold his amusement. Just when he had found his place in his book, there were two quick knocks on the door, distracting him again.

The blonde cleared his throat to invite whomever it was in, just as the door slid open a crack "Tamaki?"

The voice was definitely familiar but he wasn't quite sure who it was. "Come in." the blonde kept his eye focused on the door and he broke into an idiotic smile as soon as the person entered the room.

"Mommy!"

Kyoya stepped inside of the room and made his way to the chair that had been left next to his bed from the night before. Confusion and concern were painted across his face and Tamaki was left feeling instantly guilty. "This is where I hoped you hadn't been hiding."

"I'm surprised to see you." Tamaki left the bright smile on his face even though his cheeks were starting to hurt. He hadn't looked in a mirror yet today but he could assume that he was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was no doubt a mess and his clothes were wrinkled.

Kyoya had a hand over his mouth and he was studying his friend intently. Tamaki didn't know what he was thinking but he wished he would say something.

He wondered if the two of them were going to get in trouble for being here or if their fathers had coordinated this.

He wondered if Kyoya was mad at him for not telling him what was going on?

Was he just shell-shocked?

"Yuuichi said you were doing a lot better now but he uh—" There was a long pause and Kyoya ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. "—What the hell happened?" The Shadow King sounded more concerned than mad and that was a relief to the blonde.

"Oh. I just figured you knew. You usually know everything." Tamaki chuckled lightly and slowly sat up and turned so he was facing Kyoya. "So, after I got to the hospital, they thought I had alcohol poisoning. They noticed I had a bunch of other symptoms so they ran some tests and found out I have an autoimmune disorder. My kidney functions were down and a buildup of toxins caused the seizures. It's been a party ever since."

Tamaki wished that the lights weren't reflecting off the Shadow King's glasses so that he could get a good read on Kyoya. "But you're ok now, right?"

Kyoya had known that Tamaki's mother had had a rather severe autoimmune disorder and had eventually passed away from complications. He had looked into it when they had first met and from his understanding, they were not pretty.

"Well, it doesn't go away if that's what you're asking. But the new medications are really helping calm my immune system down and my kidney functions are slowly getting better. I haven't had a really bad day in almost a month so I am just sore and tired most days."

"That's good." Kyoya offered up a small smile and Tamaki relaxed. He didn't want things to be different between them. He didn't think he could take it if their relationship changed because of this.

"It's the same one that my mother had so I felt pretty stupid for not noticing it sooner." Tamaki laughed again, it falling weak as he soon frowned at Kyoya's expression. "Are you mad at me or something?"

The shadow king looked surprised at that question and sat up in his chair so he could place a hand on the blonde's leg. "No. I didn't know what was going on with you and I never would have guessed this. I'm just—"

"Sad for me?" Kyoya nodded slowly and Tamaki grabbed his hand. "I know things won't go back to how they were for me… but I don't want this to affect my relationships with my friends and family. Worrying won't help."

Kyoya nodded again slowly and locked eyes with Tamaki. "It's a lot to take in is all. So, have you been in the hospital this whole time?"

"God no. I was in and out the first few months and the doctors were trying all sorts of different medications. Then I got the flu and since I was on immune suppressants I had to go into the hospital since my body couldn't fight it off on its own. Things are finally calming down so I'm going home today." It took a second for the Shadow King to process all of that. He wanted to go look up everything he could on the subject so he could really understand what was going on.

"My dad called me last night and told me to come see you. He didn't really explain anything and when I drove in with my brother, he just said you have been in poor health and doing better. I don't mean to ask so many questions, Tamaki."

"It's ok." Tamaki patted the Shadow Kings hand. "How are you and the rest of the host club doing?"

They sat like that for some time, talking about the host club and what gossip was going around the school. It didn't take long for them both to relax and fall into their old pattern. For the first time in months, Tamaki was happy.

He loved learning that everyone was still doing well and missed him. He loved the fact that the longer they talked the more normal the conversation seemed. It was easy to ignore the fact that they were sitting in a hospital room, and he in a hospital bed.

They were hardly bothered by the nurses that would come into the room to check up on him and the blonde was actually excited for the next few days. When the time finally came for Tamaki to get ready to be discharged it was late in the afternoon. Kyoya waited patiently outside of the blonde's privet room while he was getting unhooked from the many machines.

He waiting as the nurses helped him get dressed. He was sent home with a printed-out schedule of his appointments for the next week along with instructions on the hoard of medications he would have to take.

The Suoh family driver picked them up and took them to the Suoh second estate and Tamaki chattered away through the entire car ride. When they had gotten in through the front door of the second estate, they were greeted by the entirety of the staff.

They all looked worried but happy to see their young master. Antoinette was practically foaming at the mouth, she was so happy to see Tamaki but even the dog seemed to sense that he was unwell and so refrained from jumping on him as she normally would.

Kyoya soon noticed that Tamaki was moving slowly up the stairs and seemed sore. They made their way to the master sweet and requested for the maids to leave them be so they could rest. The blonde shut the door behind them and almost at once fell into bed.

It had been too much of excitement in one day for him. He was practically absorbed by the many pillowed and blankets that decorated the canopy bed but the Shadow King could hear the distinct 'Pat, Pat' requesting for Kyoya to come join him.

"Are you sure that I'm not being a bother? You don't have any exams to study for?" Tamaki's words were muffled as they were spoken halfway into a pillow.

"I haven't seen you in months and you use to steal all of my weekends. I will be fine." Kyoya sat on the opposite side of the bed. This setting was much more memorable for the two of them—they had spent a lot of time together here.

"I don't remember what it's like to have so much energy." Tamaki laughed and rolled on to his back so that he was easier to hear. Kyoya was thankful for that as he watched the blonde.

"Tuckered out then?" His lilac eyes were half closed and he yawned loudly.

"I don't want to be boring and take a nap. I haven't seen you in forever. I can't just sleep." The blonde whined loudly but cut himself off with another yawn.

"To be completely honest with you. I got no sleep last night so I could go for a nap myself." Tamaki gave him a goofy smile, obviously relieved.

"You know where the pajamas are. Bring me some too!" Kyoya did indeed know where they were as he had partially memorized this room from inside out.

Since Tamaki had first moved to Japan they had spent the night at each other's houses countless times. He was pretty sure half of his closet was Tamaki's clothes and vice versa. Kyoya selected two pairs of pajama bottoms and two tee shirts before heading back over to the bed.

The blonde took longer to get dressed then Kyoya and the Shadow King enjoyed the peek he got at this friend. The blonde had lost weight causing his hip bones and spine to be more prominent but he was still beautiful, though less muscular. Months of bedrest will do that to a person though, he supposed.

Tamaki got back into bed and sat with his back against the pillows as Kyoya laid down with his head in the blonde's lap and looked up at him. Tamaki kept his eyes closed as he ran his nimble fingers though Kyoya's hair, the familiarity of the position relaxing to the both of them. The silence that fell between them was comfortable and they soon both nodded off.

It wasn't easy for them to get a good rest, however. It seemed like every 20 minutes one of their phones would go off, or one of the staff would come in to take the blondes temperature. Kyoya resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get any good rest at this rate. He had moved to lay on the pillows next to Tamaki but the disruptions were not any less—well disruptive.

A few hours had passed this way and Kyoya was just about to nod off when Shima, the head maid, knocked on the door before entering the room. She was followed by one of the gentlemen that worked in the kitchen who was pushing a cart that most likely held their dinner on it.

Tamaki was reluctant to actually wake up, but the two of them found themselves sitting at a makeshift table eating pasta and drinking tea.

The blondes phone buzzed and he ignored it. Again.

"Are you ignoring your dad on purpose?" Kyoya's own phone had gone off several times with questions as to how the blonde was doing from Yuzuru. He was no doubt worried.

"No. I suppose I'm just not used to him being so clingy." Tamaki took another small bite of food. He sounded almost passive aggressive.

In the entire time that Kyoya had known his idiot of a friend, Tamaki had never once been passive aggressive. Come to think of it, other than the over the top play fits he throws where he would pout in the corner, it was extremely rare for Tamaki to show anything but happiness.

Of course, it's not as though the blonde never got sad, mad, or frustrated. He just was good at hiding it or redirecting his feelings.

"I'm sure he just wants to know that you're ok."

Kyoya took a bite of his own food and watched his friend carefully.

"If he were really that worried, he wouldn't be in Paris meeting with the Tonnairs." Tamaki pushed his food away. What little appetite he had had was gone at the thought of what was going on.

"He's negotiating the purchases of some land for a new hotel from what I understand."

"Il paie une dot chère pour les marchandises cassées."

It had been a while since Kyoya had heard the blonde speak his mother's native tongue. If the blonde was this upset about it, Kyoya had a feeling what was he was truly worried about.

"You really think they would try to get your engagement with Éclair back? You actually jumped out of a moving car to get away from her if I remember correctly." Kyoya adjusted his glasses. He didn't miss the guiltily look in the lilac eyes.

"Grandmother has assured me that she is going to 'fix' everything. She's killing two birds with one stone I suppose. She gets a new heir for the family and our biggest competitor is no longer a threat." Tamaki stood slowly and walked over to where his medication had been set out for him. he swallowed all the pills in one go, washing them down with some water.

"You're not serious. Doesn't she hate you?"

"One would think so, but I haven't said a word to her since the cultural festival. Hopefully, she turns them down but I'm sure if her father tells her too—she will do anything." The blonde sat back down next to the Shadow King and leaned on his shoulder.

Tamaki seemed suddenly exhausted after speaking about the topic.

"Your grandmother can't actually make you marry someone? Your father oversees the cash flow in the Suoh group and you don't owe her anything." Kyoya wasn't sure why he was getting so upset. It was not uncommon for people of their social standing to choose a bride for business reasons, and for those matches to be set up by their parents. This was usually the age that started happening at…

"Elle est vieille et elle veut juste voir notre famille rester à flot. Elle a travaillé toute sa vie pour faire ça et je ne vais pas être celle qui gâchera ça " Tamaki threw an arm over Kyoya's waist and sighed.

"You know I don't understand a word you say when you speak French right?" He ran a hand up and down the side of the blonde. He could feel how warm he was even through the thin fabric of his shirt.

"Anyways I feel really bad for what I did to Éclair. I don't think she was really in love with me but she got really attached to me in those couple of days."

"A lot of girls get really attached to you in a few days Tamaki." Kyoya didn't want his best friend to marry that girl. He didn't think she was any worse than any of the girls that swooned after Tamaki at the host club but he could hardly understand her with her thick accent and what he had understood had been rude. "You could make anyone happy though. Will she be able to make you happy?"

Tamaki laughed lightly before sitting up to look Kyoya in the eye. "You mean to tell me that when it comes time for you to get married, you're going to marry for love?"

He had a point… Though, Kyoya had never actually thought about getting married one day.

"Well… not that I have actually thought about it before, but no, probably not. I'll marry who father tells me to and if he doesn't- I most likely won't marry at all. Marriage is a lot of work."

"So why do you think that would be so high on my list?"

"Because you are the biggest romantic I have ever met."

"Well… I like my Shoujo manga and fairytale endings but my dad married for love and look how that turned out?" Tamaki had a gentle smile on his face as he looked at his lap. "Besides, the only person I'm romantically interested in doesn't seem like the marriage type. We just fool around when we drink and pretend like it doesn't happen when we're sober."

"You and Haruhi screw around?" Kyoya raised an eye brown and the blonde shook his head and chuckled.

"And you guys call me dense. Jeez." The blonde leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss.

"oh."

"Yeah—" Tamaki kissed him again a little longer this time. The Shadow King brought a hand up to cup the side of the blonde's face. He knew that would be more than enough to show him that his feeling was not one-sided. "See my problem?"

The blonde pulled away slightly and resumed his position of resting on Kyoya's shoulder.

"I didn't really get a chance to get to know her last time she was here in Japan." Kyoya adjusted his glasses and wrapped an arm around Tamaki.

"She's not that interesting. Only daughter and the youngest. She is the only one still at home. Doesn't get along with mommy dearest and daddy is worse than yours. She has trust issues, unrealistic expectations, and is possessive." Tamaki said while stifling a yawn.

What a treat.

"Nothing nice to say about her at all?" Kyoya was not at all surprised. Tamaki was the head of the host club and knew how to sweep a woman off her feet but to him, they were uninteresting open books. He could pick them apart after a few short conversations and tell them whatever they wanted to hear.

"She's a traditional French beauty, model's physique, big baby blue eyes, perfect grades." Tamaki seemed surprisingly blasé given the fact that they were talking about his possible wife.

"We could all see that she is beautiful." Kyoya knew that he should not enjoy the fact that Tamaki hadn't listed a single redeeming quality about her.

"She thinks I am someone that I am not, like most girls that I meet, and She is going to be sadly disappointed when she realizes that I am human. She has daddy issues and it freaks me out that my approval was so important to her. I'm sure there is more to her then what I saw in three days."

Kyoya hummed in acknowledgment to what his friend had said. He would not push the issue any further.

Since Kyoya had met the blonde back in their second year of middle school he had never seen Tamaki show anything but happiness. Today was the first day that Tamaki seemed frustrated and angry. Today was the first-day Kyoya felt as though he was really getting to know his friend.

0o0o0

Please review and help me improve!

Shout out to the best Beta reader in the world—Thank you Wolfena!


	4. Chapter 4

Tamaki had spent the entirety of the weekend cooped up in his room with terrible headaches. Kyoya spent that time by his side, quietly working on his laptop on the other side of the room and joining his friends for cat naps.

As it turns out, Kyoya had the best of luck when it came to convincing Tamaki to eat. The staff at the second estate used that to their full advantage and the blonde was almost eating a normal amount of food for a boy his age and height. Kyoya also went with the blonde to his doctor's appointment, which seemed to surprise Yuuichi. Kyoya didn't know why—his entire family was aware of how close the two were.

Tamaki's blood levels were checked and he received a round of dialysis before being allowed to return home with some stronger pain medication to deal with the migraines.

Tamaki was content in ignoring his father while he was away in Paris, so Kyoya had kept him in the loop of the day to day activities. Both his own father, as well as Yuzuru, thanked him for this and pulled some strings with the school administration to allow for Kyoya to be excused from classes and club activities until they returned from overseas. His teachers had sent copies of everything so that he would not fall behind.

During the rest of the week, Tamaki's headaches calmed down. Enough so, that he was able to catch up on his own school work.

Kyoya would be lying if he did not say it surprised him to see several of the teachers from Ouran academy stop by to give the blonde privet lessons after school hours were over. To think they had known what was going on this entire time and had not uttered a peep to the students.

Tamaki even managed a small outing with the Shadow King. They took the dog for a short walk to allow him to stretch his legs and get some fresh air. The blondes color had improved and it seemed that his health really was on the mend. For now, at least.

Currently, however, they were in an entirely different situation altogether. The head of the Suoh family was due back in town sometime this afternoon and Tamaki was feeling frisky.

Kyoya was one hundred percent aware that this was a very bad idea.

Their relationship, if one dared call it that, was complicated.

Why they would choose now to get naked together when they knew that the blonde's father was due back and possibly bring a bride for Tamaki with him, he couldn't tell you. Kyoya currently had no idea where his self-control had wandered off too.

"Are you sure your fine?" Kyoya's panted out while he kissed Tamaki's neck. The blonde had been so sore for the past few days and he just wanted to ensure that he was comfortable.

"Promise, I'm fine." Tamaki was currently straddling his waist, grinding their hips together as he let the Shadow King cover his neck in love bites. Kyoya knew that the blonde was a sucker for foreplay and even though they didn't have time to be doing this in the first place, he was taking things slow.

Fingers slid down the king of the host club's hot sides, cool hands gripping his hips, encouraging the friction that had them both panting. This was not like the other times they had been together—there were no intoxicants or other parties involved and Kyoya was pretty sure this was the best sex he had ever had.

They hadn't even gotten to the main event yet.

No matter how hot this was—It didn't make it a good idea. For years the two of them had found themselves in intimate situations and with the help of a little booze, they had been giving in to their attraction to each other. They had never done this sober.

They were not 'together.' They had never been exclusive.

They were best friends who occasionally fucked each other until today. Even when Tamaki had admitted he had feelings for Kyoya, they hadn't taken it any further. They both knew how this was going to end—

But for some reason, they were going to go down this rabbit hole anyways.

Kyoya had been in love with Tamaki for many years. He would have been ok with things staying the way they had been, only because he knew there was no chance that they could have a true relationship with the kind of families they came from.

He had been careful to keep a certain amount of distance in their relationship so neither one of them became too attached. They would be going their separate ways after high school and though their family's companies worked closely, they would most likely only see each other a few times a year as adults.

Tamaki no doubt understood this as well. Though, Kyoya was starting to think that Tamaki had become too attached to him already.

What was he to do though? It wasn't as though the Shadow King didn't want to be unbuttoning the blonde's jeans and tongue kissing him while he sat in his lap moaning. Kyoya, in fact, couldn't think of anything he wanted more.

At a certain point, Kyoya had to say to hell with it. He kissed Tamaki hard and savored the taste of him because he knew this was not going to last forever. He would take anything the blonde was willing to give him.

Kyoya's grip on Tamaki's hips tightened and he used the leverage to reverse their positions, pinning the blonde beneath him as he left love bites on his collarbone and chest while he helped him shimmy out of his tight jeans. Throwing the garment off of the bed and onto the floor, Kyoya nipped down Tamaki's chest and did the same with his boxers.

The gasp the blonde made when he gipped his needy arousal was like music to his ears, making Kyoya smirk as he continued to kiss lower on the blonde's body. Breath hitching as the Shadow King took him slowly into his mouth.

Kyoya was doing a good enough job if the mewls of pleasure he was getting from the blonde were any indication. Tamaki's back was arching off the mattress and his hands were fisted into the comforter as the Shadow King took as much of him as he could, sucking hard.

When he was sure Tamaki was getting close, he flicked his tongue over the tip and grinned at his lover.

"Where is th—"

"Top drawer." Tamaki cut him off, knowing exactly what was coming next. Kyoya got off the side of the bed and found the small bottle that he was looking for right where it was the last time they had used it. Taking advantage of the fact that he was standing, the Shadow King ditched the rest of his clothes before climbing back into the bed.

The blush on Tamaki's face was perfect. Lilac eyes watched him as he popped the cap and squeezed a bit of the thick gel onto his fingers, before closing the cap and setting it to the side. Again, Kyoya took Tamaki's length into his mouth as he circled the blondes tight entrance.

One finger turned into two and two into three. Tamaki was panting and whining while the Shadow King pleasured him and pouted when he pulled away. Leaning up, Kyoya captured the blonde's lips while he again grabbed the little bottle that had been on the nightstand.

Soon enough, Tamaki did not have anything to pout about as Kyoya slowly slid inside, one of the blonde's knees over each of his shoulders.

"You comfo—"

"Hmum." Tamaki again cut him off and Kyoya found himself smirking as his lover. "You can..." The blonde left the rest of his sentence unsaid but the Shadow King got the point. Pulling his hips back slowly he started a steady rhythm for them.

They had done this enough that Kyoya knew Tamaki's body like his own and soon enough, he hit that little bundle of nerves that caused the blonde's breath to hitch and for him to call out Kyoya's name.

"Oh gosh… Kyo—ahhn—Kyoya." The Shadow King rolled his hips quickly and Tamaki moaned loudly. This was a big house but they did not need to try and draw attention to themselves.

"Shhh." The blonde nodded his head quickly and covered his mouth with one of his hands to try and quite himself.

Tamaki continued to keen loudly as their pace quickened but Kyoya was so close to the edge that he found himself not caring.

He should have though.

"Jesus Christ—" Both Tamaki and Kyoya froze and their eyes shot over to the doorway where the blondes father stood. "I guess you really are feeling better then, Tamaki." Yuzuru covered his eyes with both of his hands while he kicked the door shut behind him.

Kyoya's face went as red as a tomato. This could not be happening… vaguely he was aware of Tamaki laughing as they both scrambled off the bed and started to retrieve their clothing.

"You weren't supposed to be home until tonight."

The Shadow King wasn't sure what the blonde found so funny. He was absolutely mortified.

"I thought you guys were just friends?" Yuzuru did not seem to be overly bothered by the fact that he had caught his son with another male in bed. Mostly he seemed mentally scared at walking in to find his son with anyone in his bed.

"Well, you could have gone on thinking we were just friends had you knocked." Tamaki managed to get his laughter under control, to which Kyoya was thankful of. "You have a teenage son."

"A teenage son that has a newly diagnosed chronic illness who was too sick to get out of bed last time I saw him." Yuzuru had a point but a knock could have saved some mental scarring on both of their ends.

"Still a teenager, also, we're decent now." Tamaki squeezed Kyoya's hand reassuringly as they walked towards the patriarch of the Suoh family. This was not happening.

"Okay, okay. But your Father—" Yuzuru pointed to Kyoya. "—and your grandmother, Éclair and her parents are downstairs concerned about your health, and you're up here fucking your best friend so we have a bigger problem to deal with."

The amusement was washed from Tamaki's face instantly. "Why would you bring them here!" Kyoya felt a sudden wave of nausea rise in his stomach.

"For dinner?"

Tamaki ran both of his hands through his now tangled hair. "You could have called! What if I-"

"—I called the staff and I texted you. This is not the issue." Tamaki's father looked exhausted. "You two need to get in the shower and come downstairs ASAP. We are officially pretending this didn't happen."

Without waiting for a reply, he pulled the door open and hurried down the hallway.

Soon enough, Tamaki was following Kyoya down the stairs. His father seemed rather composed considering what he had just walked in on but Tamaki didn't miss the slight glare as he watched the two of them entered the room.

Tamaki gave a reserved, but friendly smile to the guests. "Good evening."

The blonde gave the slightest bow, following the Asian custom, to his guest and Kyoya mimicked. The Shadow King knew that the Tonnairs Japanese was poor and was interested to see how the night would unfold.

Tamaki and Kyoya both sat next to their Fathers but the King had the pleasure of sitting directly across from Éclair.

She was as beautiful as the last time he had seen her. Her makeup was done to perfection and there was not a hair out of place. Éclair wore a tea length burgundy dress with a sweetheart neckline. Her hands were folded neatly on her lap and she sat with perfect posture.

She was not making eye contact with him, however. Her eyes were focused on her lap and she had the slightest of smiles on. Tamaki wasn't sure if she was still angry with him or just nervous.

"Merci d'être venue tout ce temps Miss Éclair. Tu es encore plus belle que la dernière fois que je t'ai vue."

Tamaki offered up his best host smile but she didn't look up to meet his gaze and only forced a slightly more pronounced smile.

"Je suis heureux d'apprendre que votre santé s'améliore. Nous étions tous très tristes d'entendre que vous étiez tombé malade. "

"C'est très gentil de ta part." Tamaki locked eyes with his grandmother. She did not seem to be impressed with the conversation so far. A glance at her parents and he knew this was not what they were hoping for at all. Tamaki took a deep breath before standing and taking a few steps.

Grabbing Éclairs hands, he beckoned her to her feet. Kissing both of her cheeks in a warm greeting he gave her a hug. "Je suis désolé pour ce qui s'est passé pendant le festival culturel. J'espère que je pourrai m'excuser à nouveau quand nous aurons l'occasion de parler en privé. "

He spoke quietly in her ear so that no one else would be able to hear him. The blonde was finally able to catch her eyes and hold them.

She was obviously nervous being the center of attention in the room. There was no trace of anger.

The two of them retook their seats and listened to the adults speak. The conversation was slow and tedious and Yuzuru was doing his best to translate. Poor Kyoya was absolutely unsure of what was going on. The parts that he did understand seemed like normal talk of business but the entire atmosphere seemed tense.

Tamaki especially seemed tense. His grandmother was glaring at him through the entire dinner and the blonde did not touch his food. While he was feeling a lot better, the King of the host club was pale and the dark circles under his eyes were becoming more pronounced.

Before dessert was served the blonde excused himself and went back upstairs, leaving Kyoya to suffer alone. Unfortunately for him, his father insisted that he come home after dinner and allow Tamaki to rest. He was to return to school tomorrow morning and attend classes like normal.

To his relief, he would still be able to visit Tamaki after school and on the weekend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello All! Please let me know what you think and if you are enjoying the story so far.**

**I still do not own Ouran.**

0o0o0

Tamaki was eating the blandest breakfast he had had in his entire life when his father came into the room. Yuzuru often visited in the morning before he went to work, but did not often find his son out of bed.

The blonde was sitting happily feeding pieces of bland vegetables to the dog under the table when he had arrived. Deciding not to scold Tamaki, he instead sat across from him and smiled.

"Still feeling ok?"

Tamaki's color was not any better but from the updated he had received from the nurses, his boy hadn't been taking as much pain medication and has been sleeping far less these days.

Tamaki nodded his head slowly. "Not the best but not the worst. Mostly bored." He slid a piece of a steamed potato to the dog and smiled as Antoinette gobbled it down.

"Your final exams are coming up. Feeling prepared?"

Yuzuru watched his son carefully. He had been doing his best not to put too much pressure on him academically since he had fallen ill but they couldn't have him falling behind in school.

"No more than usual." The blonde managed a smile for his father, finally giving the man his full attention.

"There is a slight hiccup with school policy when it comes to you taking the exams at home. It's not allowed." Tamaki didn't seem concerned at the news and continued to listen quietly. "So, you are going to need to go to the school and take them in person with a member of the school staff."

"I get to go to school?!" Tamaki's dull expression did a 180.

"I spoke with your grandmother and she thinks now would be a good time to make an appearance to your classmates as well since you have been feeling so much better this last week." His son's eyes were now wide with excitement, looking completely different from his previously dull eyes.

"But—we also don't want you getting too overwhelmed so we have decided to have you take one exam a day."

"What's the cover story? As to why I haven't been at school?" The blonde stood from his seat, setting his plate on the floor so the dog could finish it off for him.

"You took time off from school due to an illness and that you hope to be back at school full time soon. If they ask for more details excuse yourself."

"Am I really going back to school full time?" Tamaki sat back down on the bed instead and took a sip of his orange juice.

"Your doctor has cleared you to attend the exams, not to return to school." Yuuichi wanted to see his illness better controlled before they allowed Tamaki to do anything that may be stressful. The blonde didn't seem to mind, however. He was just excited to see most of his friends again.

Unlike last month when Kyoya had come for his first surprise visit, he had control of the when and how of the situation. He could slip in once classes had started so there was low traffic in the hallways and he could hide out in the club room should he start to feel overwhelmed.

"Tamaki, it's very important that you are careful with the information you share with everyone. It's also important that we make sure you are feeling well and you let someone know as soon as you are not. Right now, we have control over how this news gets out and the vaguer we are, the better—"

Tamaki was only half listening to his father as he took out his phone to text Kyoya to let the other host know.

He did catch the part that the school administration is aware of the situation. He smiled and nodded, he was elated when he was finally allowed to go upstairs and get dressed. The maids had freshly pressed his school uniform and it was set out for him.

He spent longer than usual staring at himself in the mirror. He wasn't happy with his color or how hollow his cheeks were, but he could only do so much. He made his way down the stairs and shared a car with his father on his way to the school.

He watched the familiar buildings that were wishing past through the tinted windows of the limousine, doing his best to ignore the way the excitement was quickly turning into anxiety. His father wasn't doing anything to help either.

He could care less about if people found out he was ill and it affected their stock prices. They were going to find out eventually and he was getting fed up with being locked away.

Classes had started nearly an hour ago so the front of the school was practically deserted. Yuzuru's personal assistant met them at the entrance and was kind to Tamaki as always. The two of them escorted the blonde to one of the unused classrooms that was set up for his first exam.

He did his honest best, but as he read the questions he was feeling not so prepared. He made a mental note to study for the math test that he would have to take tomorrow as he politely excused himself. He didn't want to wait around to hear his score.

Tamaki made the mistake of not checking the time before stepping out into the hallway. He was halfway to the host club when the hallways were flooded with students taking their morning break. It took only moments for him to be surrounded by classmates.

The heir to the Suoh group had been well-liked amongst his classmates since he had moved to Japan. It was not a surprise that they had missed him but having them surround him and ask questions all at once was overwhelming.

He answered as many questions as he could. He told them he was feeling fine today and thanked them for their concern. He let them know that he had had some health troubles and was back at school for exams. He told them he hoped to be back at school full time. He then let them know that he hadn't had a chance to stop by the host club and say hello to all of them and that was where he was headed. He told them that he hoped to run into them again soon.

The girls were especially reluctant to go but we're happy to hear that they could come visit him in the club room. By the time he had actually made it to the abandoned music room the host club used for school actives, his head was starting to pound.

Tamaki paused outside of the double doors and took a deep breath. Truly, he didn't expect anyone to be in there as it wasn't time got club activities. His hands were uncomfortably stiff from all the writing he had done earlier in the day and the cool metal handle of the door felt nice against his hot skin.

Pushing the doors open he was greeted with a dim room.

It was empty.

Tamaki would be lying if he said that he wasn't slightly relieved. Flipping on the light switch next to the door, he walked across the room. His footsteps echoed off the walls as he maneuvered through the familiar surroundings. Everything was just as he remembered it. Not a thing out of place.

He was hardly able to take a seat in his usual spot before the door to the host club room was flung open and the twins and Haruhi ran in. Tamaki was practically tackled by the three of them and winced loudly as he fell back on the couch.

The physically uncomfortable group hug broke apart and the King of the host club found himself sitting between the twins with Haruhi standing in front of him. He smiled at them. "Well, long time no see."

"That's all you have to say to us?" The three of them shouted in unison and Tamaki rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

"Okay, okay—Yes, I'm feeling fine. I've been dealing with some health issues. No, I'm not dying. No, I can't talk about it here. Yes, Kyoya will fill you in. Yes, it's a secret. Yes, I missed you guys. I'm only here to take my exams. No, I'm not coming back to school and I don't know when." The blonde kept the smile plastered on his face. He didn't want the host club to worry and he didn't want them to treat him any differently.

The three hosts in front of him practically jumped him again with another hug. He could expect as much. He would probably feel much the same way had one of them been going through this.

Tamaki wasn't able to see the doors to the host club being flung open a second time but he definitely heard the pitter pat of feet and felt someone else glom him. He assumed it was Hunny when he heard slower footsteps approaching as well.

News sure did travel fast in Ouran.

Tamaki was so happy to have them all around him that he didn't care about his headache any longer. He listened to all of these stories and laughed at the twin's shenanigans. They all picked up on the fact that Tamaki didn't want to talk about his own problems and were happy to keep him distracted.

Kyoya showed up to the host club room and smiled at what he found. The Shadow King did most of the set up for host club by himself to allow his friends to get caught up. When it came time for their first guest to arrive Tamaki was already worn out.

News had traveled across the school and the host club was packed. Tamaki was delighted to catch up with all his regulars but as time wore on it was obvious that the excitement of the day was getting to him. By the time they got to the last of their guests, Tamaki was leaning a head on Kyoya's shoulder and giving sleepy smiles.

The host club was only open for an hour during lunch. Kyoya had sent the twins to pick up food from the Cafeteria for them while they took a break before there next sessions. Tamaki took advantage of this downtime to snooze while the Shadow King worked on the schedule for the rest of the day. They were flooded with last second requests for the day and there was no way they were going to be able to meet them all.

Kyoya didn't expect for Tamaki to make it back this week for anything more than exams. He seemed overwhelmed with all the attention.

The blonde tried to get out of eating but the Shadow King was having none of it. He managed to get a few bites down before the doors to the host club room were again opened. All of their eyes darted up to see Éclair standing just inside of music room three.

Tamaki stood before anyone had a chance to say anything. The Hikaru, Kaoru, Hunny, and Haruhi were surprised to see her there and didn't hide the fact that this was not a pleasant surprise. He felt a bit wobbly on his feet but he managed to cross the room and stand in the way of the glaring hosts.

Kissing both of her cheeks he gave her a small hug.

"Je ne vous attendais pas."

"Votre père m'a demandé de vous rendre visite. Il a dit que je pourrais te trouver ici."

She didn't look upset but she also didn't look happy to see Haruhi. It wasn't as if Tamaki and she had ever had a romantic relationship, though there was no way that Éclair would know that.

"Juste rattrapage. C'est la première fois que je suis ici depuis que je suis tombé malade. S'il vous plaît venez vous asseoir avec nous. J'aimerais que vous fassiez connaissance avec mes amis." The blonde grabbed her hand and started to lead her over to one of couches before she had a chance to respond.

"Thank you for letting me join you all," Éclair spoke slowly, her accent was rather thick but she took the time to articulate every syllable as correctly as she could. Japanese and French were very different languages.

He had been lucky to grow up in a household that regularly spoke both. From what he remembered, Éclair had only been working on learning Japanese a few years ago.

Most of the host flashed her polite smiles. The twins, however, could not mask their distaste for the fact that the woman, who less than a year ago had tried to steal Tamaki away from them.

"So, what brings you to the host club today Miss Éclair?" Haruhi's tone was not quite as friendly as her smile. It would mean a lot to Tamaki if the two of them could learn to get along however and was happy to see his adopted daughter making an effort.

"I was just finished taking the entrance exams for Ouran high school. Tamaki's Father told me I could swing by and check up on him here at the host club today since he was—"

Éclair paused as she tried to find her words. "the tests he had to take. He would be coming here to—"

The strawberry blonde looked at her soon to be Fiancé with a slight frustration. "Comment puis-je dire que je voulais m'arrêter et passer du temps avec vous? Visitez?"

Tamaki pronounced the word slowly for her and she parroted it back to him. With a nod of approval, she looked back at Haruhi. "His father told me he would be here for a visit."

All of the hosts including Kyoya seemed to be surprised. Tamaki gave them an apologetic smile and placed a hand on Éclair's lap. "Éclair has just moved to Japan." The surprise turned to anger and Tamaki laughed awkwardly. "Our parents are finalizing things now but it looks as though Éclair and I will be getting engaged shortly."

Kyoya cleared his throat drawing the everyone's attention and he shot the hosts a look as he closed his notebook. "That's wonderful news, Tamaki. We should celebrate soon." Kyoya spoke slowly and made eye contact with each and every one of the hosts.

"Yeah Senpai. Just kind of unexpected is all." Hikaru looked at Éclair critically. Not a glare but far from friendly.

"I mean, it's just kind of weird not hearing from you for these last few months and suddenly you're engaged to her." Kaoru chimed in after his brother but seemed calmer about the situation.

"Especially after what went down this spring at the Cultural Festival." The twins spoke in unison this time and it was easy to see that their words were making Éclair uncomfortable.

Tamaki patted her leg hoping to reassure her as he smiled at the twins. "I'm as surprised as you are. I thought for sure Éclair would never forgive me. She's been so very sweet about the whole situation."

Unlike the last time she was here, Éclair didn't seem confident at all. If anything, she seemed shy and uncomfortable being surrounded by the hosts. Tamaki wasn't sure if this was just because the twins were being confrontational, or if she felt embarrassed to be back after the rejection she received earlier this year.

Whatever it was, he didn't like it. He didn't want her to feel like she didn't fit in, especially since she was going to be going to school with them all.

"So like—you're getting married because your parents want you to?" Haruhi was biting her bottom lip and seemed genuinely concerned. "Why would they do that? Aren't you two practically strangers?"

"Well—" Tamaki smiled warmly at Haruhi. He didn't want to seem too friendly in front of Éclair. He didn't want to make her think that she had anything to worry about. "Sometimes it happens in families like ours. It's not common now a day but it happens."

"Think of it as a business decision. Normally our families would compete but if there is a blood tie that is less likely to happen." Éclair placed her hand on top of Tamaki's as they watched the brunette become even more confused.

"So, you're just going to go with it? What if you end up hating each other?"

"I suppose we will have to deal with that if it comes to it." The blonde laughed awkwardly again. He wanted to be careful about what he said to them.

"Kyoya, didn't your parents have an arranged marriage?"

"They did. They were very happy together before my mother's passing from what I understand." The Shadow King knew that Tamaki was uncomfortable with all the questions. He was completely capable of breaking up there little sewing circled, but he thought Éclair could stand to be uncomfortable for a few more minutes.

The host club obviously didn't like her.

"Didn't your father have an arranged marriage, Tamaki?" The twins spoke in unison again and their glaring power intensified.

"Please don't worry about it. I know it's a lot of change to deal with you guys, but no one is being forced into this. It's not like the last time. Éclair and I both have come to this decision because it's the best one for our family's."

"You're not lying to us right Tama-chan?" Hunny had been sitting on Mori's lap for most of the conversation, clutching his stuffed rabbit to his chest. He didn't have his usually happy-go-lucky tone.

"No Hunny-senpai. You have nothing to worry about." Tamaki discreetly shot Kyoya a tired look. The Shadow King had let the two of them suffer long enough.

"Let's get to work everyone, we open in twenty minutes and we are going to be swamped." Kyoya stood and started towards the door. "Lady Éclair, would you mind letting us get back to business as usual?"

"Not at all." The strawberry blonde waited for Tamaki to stand before doing the same. To everyone's surprise, the two walked to the entrance of the club room hand and hand. Tamaki stopped them just short of double doors.

**(A/N They are speaking in French but I decided to make it where you guys can understand it since both participants are fluent. From here on out in this Fic if there is anyone in the convo that doesn't understand French I will put the actual translation in.)**

_"I'm sorry about all of that. My friends mean well, they are just protective."_  Tamaki kissed her forehead and leaned down to whisper in her ear.  _"Would you allow me to take you to dinner tonight, my lady? I have been absolutely dying for a chance to speak with you alone."_

_"That sounds absolutely lovely."_  Éclair brushed her bangs out of her face and nodded. A slight pink was dusting her cheeks.

_"I'll swing by your hotel around 8 pm then?"_  The blonde internally groaned at the lateness of the hour but he felt as though he should take her on a proper date.

Éclair nodded before excusing herself. The door clicked shut loudly and Tamaki turned to face his fellow hosts. Save for Kyoya and Mori, they did not seem happy with him. He did his best to work damage control in the short amount of time they had before they opened for their second session of the day.

Kyoya would take care of the rest, he was sure. Tamaki didn't think he could handle all of this without his friend by his side.

Tamaki sat, as the Shadow King had directed, in a quiet corner of the main host club room. He was happy to be seated again and as the first of their guest arrived, he mentally kicked himself for not taking his medication.

Thankfully, the ladies seemed to notice the fact that he was not feeling very well at all and spoke quietly. Tamaki enjoyed the relaxed setting but the closer they got to the end of the day the more exhausted he was feeling.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Ouran.

0o0o0

Éclair sat on the foot of her bed, waiting to hear a knock at the door. Tamaki was going to be there any minute and she was starting to get a bit antsy.

The last time she had visited Japan, the two had spent quite a bit of time alone. Not nearly enough time for either of them to truly get to know each other, of course, but it was just enough time for Éclair to get a good read on her soon to be Fiancés personality.

He really was as sweet as his mother had claimed.

She had been in love with Tamaki from afar for many, long years. The son of the Grenadian heiress had attended the same elementary school as she had, though they had been in different classes. When he had moved away unexpectedly, she thought that had been the end of her childhood crush.

When their new maid, Sophia, had started telling her stories of her son who loved to play the piano, she wasn't able to easily forget the blonde as she brought up cherished memories.

She remembered how she watched him from across the room for most of the morning on the first day of the fair. He had such a gentle smile. It hadn't mattered who he had been speaking with, he treated each and every person in that room with the utmost respect and graciousness. It was obvious that he enjoyed doing it as well.

She had been intrigued to see the strained—no damaged—relationship Tamaki had had with his father and Grandmother. He had been all too happy to give her his full attention and take time away from his club activities to escort her around the cultural festival. It didn't matter that he was just following orders, he catered to her every whim.

Éclair, though, had fallen in love with the real Tamaki the moment she had heard him play the piano. It was more beautiful than anything she had ever heard before in her life. The way the notes perfectly flowed with the movements of his fingers gave her goosebumps. She couldn't take her eyes off the blonde's expression. His soul came forth from the music and it was the most mystical thing she'd ever experienced.

She knew, at that moment, that all she had been told by the sickly housemaid had been true.

She could tell that Tamaki craved for the safety and stability of a family. This host club was nothing more than a poor imitation of what a true family could be. Éclair knew that the blondes mother and father had never lived together under the same roof.

It sounded as though Sofia and Yuzuru had loved each other deeply but they never saw each other more than a few times a year. Tamaki had been forced to leave his mother when he was in middle school and his grandmother kept him isolated from her and his father. The poor lonely boy lived all alone in the second estate and to cure his loneliness, he had created a make-believe family.

She could give him what he truly wanted though, and in return, she would wake up to his sweet smile every morning and hear him play the piano every night.

Part of Éclair wondered if Tamaki had only agreed to the marriage last spring so that he could see his mother again, or if perhaps he would do anything to win the approval of his grandmother. She hoped that he had seen something in her and that is why he had agreed to the marriage. Seen a wife and future mother of his children.

He never did get on that plane. So, in the end, it didn't really matter what his motivation was.

Éclair had gone back to France and tried to smile, but she was not able to forget about his lilac eyes and kind smile. Tamaki remained the fairytale ending just out of her reach until Lady Suoh had stopped by to pay a visit. And now she was getting her second chance. She wanted nothing more than to be with that sweet little boy she had seen from across the lunch hall, drawing pictures for his ill mother, and the sad teen who played his sorrows out on the piano.

Suddenly, there were two sharp knocks on her door, snapping her out of her thoughts. She wasted no time walking across the plush, carpeted floor to unlock the hotel room door. Tamaki greeted her with a warm smile and a single red rose.

She loved that smile.

The two exchanged a quick greeting and Éclair put her flower in some water before they made their way to the front of the hotel where a car was waiting for them. Tamaki looked paler then he had earlier that day, though he seemed to be in good spirits.

The blonde was a perfect gentleman. Tamaki had chosen a small Italian bistro that was tucked away on a quiet side street. The lush, warm colors of the carpets, tapestries, and woodwork set a classy—yet cozy atmosphere that was complemented by the intimate table for two they were given near the window.

Soon, the two of them were looking over the menu.

Well, to be more specific, Tamaki was looking over the menu and Éclair was observing him. His lilac eyes were half-lidded and she was able to make out the faintest of dark circles that were starting to form under those perfect eyes.

Due to her staring—she didn't miss when Tamaki glanced up at her.

"What's the matter Éclair? Nothing looks tasty?" The strawberry blonde blushed at being caught. No, staring was not polite, but she loved to watch him.

Beautiful even when doing something so simple. She couldn't say that however—they were not in a position to be so open with each other yet. He was not hers to watch—to do with as she pleased.

Yet.

"It's not that. I was just noticing how tired you look. We didn't have to come out if you weren't feeling well, Tamaki." Éclair reluctantly picked up her menu but continued to watch carefully for the blonde's reaction.

"Believe it or not, this is actually a good day for me." Tamaki chucked and took a sip of his water, not raising his eyes to meet her gaze. "Do I really look that bad?"

"No. You have less color in your cheeks then you did this morning." Finally, she peeled her eyes away from the blonde and glanced across the menu—nothing exciting—it all looked palatable. "I just want you to know that you don't need to overexcite yourself on my behalf."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." The waiter soon came over to the table and the strained smile on the blonde's face turned into a dazzling one as he ordered a glass of wine for each of them. As soon as the young man had scribbled down a quick note, he rushed off to leave the two of them in silence.

Perhaps commenting on her Tamaki's health was not the best way to make conversation.

Their situation was strange though, wasn't it? She already knew so much about Tamaki and he knew so little about her—Éclair didn't particularly like to talk about herself and couldn't imagine her life would be of any interest to her prince.

Tamaki had taken to looking out the window at the people hurrying past. Japan had a lot more foot traffic then Paris—it was easy to get lost in the crowd.

"You like watching people, don't you Princess?"

Tamaki didn't turn his attention from the window but he smiled. She wished he would look at her when he smiled like that.

"How did you know?" Again, Éclair looked away from her future husband and followed his line of sight to see a couple trying to calm their crying daughter. If the mud on the front of the child's shirt was any indication, it looked as though they had just tripped.

Her eyes flickered away from the little family, back to Tamaki when he started to speak. "You're always watching someone. Every time I see you. It makes me wonder what you may be thinking."

"Where would you have me look? People are far more interesting than looking at the walls, you know." Tamaki chuckled, and his smile reached his eyes.

Why wouldn't he look at her?

"You do have a point there, my dear. I like watching people too. It's something I do when I am lonely, though." Éclair felt a pang in her chest. She didn't want her little Tamaki to be lonely—he had been such a lonely little boy there was no reason for that now that she was here.

"Really?"

Tamaki nodded at her, his attention still at the family on the other side of the thick glass, their child now happily holding both of her parent's hands as they walked past the window of the restaurant. "Are you lonely a lot then?"

He seemed to be occupied with his friends here in Japan—perhaps she misunderstood his relationship with them?

"I was back in France. When I got to Japan, I almost forgot what it was like to be lonely but all this nonsense with my health has me spending a lot of time alone. I am mostly too sleepy to be lonely." The blonde reached across the table and placed his palm over her hands. "I'm sure once I get used to all of this, I won't feel like that any longer so don't worry about me."

Éclair would be there, so there would be no reason at all for him to feel lonely—she was going to make sure of it. Before she had had a chance to respond to her sweet Tamaki, the Waiter returned with their wine and they both ordered something light off the menu. She was watching her weight for wedding dress shopping so she skipped the pasta and loaves of bread and went straight for the salads.

Tamaki must not have had much of an appetite because he ordered a cup of soup. He already looked too thin and probably could have benefited from a plate of cheese smothered pasta. She didn't comment on it however, there would be time to make him eat later on. As soon as the waiter took their menus and left, those lilac eyes finally focused on her.

"What about you? I would hate to hear that my princess is going to be lonely in Japan because her family and friends are back in France."

"Oh no. I don't have many close friends back home and my siblings are all adults so it's just mother, father, and I at home." Éclair forced a smile. There was no one like her sweet Tamaki back at home.

Her closest sibling in age was 16 years older than her and married with three children. Her mother and father had grandchildren that were older then Éclair was and had their first great-grandchild on the way. Her mother had been in her late 40's when she was born and was ready to have an empty nest now that her youngest was in high school.

The novelty of ballet recitals and school plays had faded for her parents before she was even conceived so Éclair had spent most of her time with her nannies.

Like her sweet Tamaki—She didn't have a traditionally warm family to come home to at night.

"Well, we'll make sure that you make lots of new friends at Ouran once you are enrolled. Not to mention the staff at the second estate is great—so you are going to feel like you're at home in no time at all." The blonde squeezed her hand reassuringly, making her smile.

She could care less about making friends at school or who worked for them—She already felt at home sitting next to Tamaki.

"That's so very sweet of you, Tamaki." Another silence settled between them, this one far more comfortable as they both turned to glance out of the window to watch the strangers bustle past on the busy street.

Éclair wondered what the blonde could possibly be thinking. He always seemed happy, always sweet, and always kind. It didn't matter who he was speaking to—so he was incredibly hard to read. Did he really care if she made friends or was he just saying what he thought she would want to hear?

How could one person be so genuinely kind to everyone, all the time?

She didn't realize that she had gone back to staring at Tamaki until he laughed lightly. "Can I ask you something Princess?"

She nodded her head, blushing slightly in embarrassment as she watched the blonde's smile be replaced with a more sorrowful one. She quickly lost her blush.

"Are you even going to be happy here? With me in Japan?"

"Is there a reason you can think of that I wouldn't be happy?" Éclair took a sip of her wine and continued to watch Tamaki as he gazed out of the window. She had not seen this side of him last time she had been in Japan—He had been happy go lucky and eager to please.

It wasn't as though she cared that he was more mellow now—though she wished he didn't look so sad when discussing their marriage.

"I just want to know that you are not doing this because your mom and dad are making you. I don't want to make you miserable."

"You shouldn't worry about silly things like that, Tamaki. It's bad for your health." The blonde smirked at her response and squeezed her hand again.

"I don't think it's stilly. I know I hurt you during the cultural festival. I didn't mean to but If you-"

"I don't do anything I don't want to and I always get what I want Tamaki. If I didn't want to marry you, I wouldn't be here right now." Éclair cut him off swiftly as she sipped her wine again. She didn't want their wedding to be a sad thing.

She wasn't sad.

She had the sweet boy she had been longing for since she was young all to herself now. He wasn't going anywhere, he needed her. What could be better? That commoner girl couldn't do what she could do when it came time to stabilize the Suoh group- Only she could.

No, she wasn't nervous or scared or lonely. She was thrilled.

"I'm glad that my princess knows what she wants. Even if I don't understand why." Tamaki smiled at her and took a sip of his own wine, seemingly satisfied with her answer.

Yes, she could tell him about how she listened to his mother tell stories about him—or about how she had thought he was so sweet in elementary school—but she didn't want to make him sad. Éclair was doing her best to avoid bringing his mother up if she could help it.

Poor Sophia hadn't even been in the grave for a year yet.

"I got my welcome packet from Ouran last night. I'll be starting in the fall semester in class 1A." It was time for a subject change—and Éclair didn't miss how Tamaki lit up at the mention of school.

"Really? You're going to be in class with the Twins and Haruhi!"

"The commoner is in class 1A? how did that happen?" Honestly—since primary school, she had been in all-girls boarding schools. She would have been more comfortable at Saint Lobelia academy—but she was marrying the chairman's son. It was important for people in their social standing to 'Keep it in the family' when it came to things like this.

"Her test scores got her there I suppose? I know you're not her biggest fan, but don't you think it will be nice to have a friendly face on your first day?" Tamaki was still beaming and it took all of Éclair's patients not to sigh and roll her eyes.

"I don't think she or any of your friends like me very much. They made that quite clear earlier, Tamaki." They had been incredibly rude but the joke was on them. She was going to be staying around and Tamaki was going to have to pick her side over theirs.

She didn't care if every student in that school hated her. She had what she wanted and she wasn't letting go.

"I would go so far to say that they dislike you. They are not very good at expressing themselves. The twins especially." The blondes excitement settled as he tried to explain.

Honesty—she didn't care what excuse they had. If they were not going to make an effort neither was she—if they wanted to be in Tamaki's life, they were going to need to get with the program.

"Well, they were incredibly rude to me today and I have done nothing wrong." Éclair made sure her tone was stern but was careful not to raise her voice. After all, it was not her Tamaki's fault that his friends were heathens.

"You are absolutely correct. You haven't done anything wrong and they treated you poorly and for that I am sorry. I hope you can forgive them and continue to be patient with them... The first-year club members are sensitive. The twins especially aren't good at things like this."

They were all roughly the same age and should all be acting like adults. Sure, that Haruhi girl wasn't raised like the rest of them—but those twins should know better than to be so passive-aggressive. "What you want me to put up with their behavior in the meantime?"

Éclair was supposed to be Tamaki's wife. She was supposed to be his priority.

"No. Kyoya talked to them about it already so you shouldn't have to worry. They know they were out of line now." Tamaki returned to looking out the window and Éclair frowned.

At least one of his friends was not being idiotic. Kyoya was the most tolerable out of the bunch. He was smart, and she admired him for his ability to crawl out of his place as the youngest in his family.

Kyoya would be a good one to have on their side in the future—and he was already quite fond of her Tamaki. She hardly saw one without the other these days which was starting to get on her nerves.

"Well, I appreciate him talking some sense into your friends. It's nice to know that at least one of them has manners. Perhaps it will rub off on the younger members of your little club." Tamaki nodded.

"He's the grown up in our group, that's for sure. I don't know where we would be without him at this point." The waiter returned to the table with their food and Éclair thanked him before motioning for him to leave so that they could continue their conversation.

"You spend an awful lot of time with him. Every time I see you, you two are together." At this point, Éclair wasn't very interested in her food and her Tamaki seemed less interested then she did.

"We've been like that ever since I got to Japan." Tamaki grinned and she was hit with a strong feeling of jealousy. "I honestly don't know what I would do without him."

It wasn't as if Éclair had anything to worry about. Kyoya was a boy after all and if he truly was her Tamaki's closest friend, it wasn't that strange that they spent so much time together now that he was ill. The Suoh and the Ootori family had done business for many years and their fathers encouraged their closeness.

Éclair wasn't so sure that she wanted Kyoya around that much now. He may be the most tolerable of the bunch but that didn't matter when she didn't like any of her future husband's friends.

"You know we were trying to buy his father's company—he snatched it up before we were able to and turned management back over to his father. He's going places." It was a good thing for them too- he would be going off to school and she wouldn't have the constant annoyance.

"Kyoya is going to do amazing things one day. I think his dad is taking him more seriously though. He has really raised his expectations for poor Kyoya." The blonde's brows furrowed, his previously cheery expression melting away to worry.

"I would imagine that this is a good thing?" It meant he was going to be out of her hair, at least.

"It depends. He hardly has any free time. Once he is done studying, his father drags him to all sorts of meetings and such. I think he is pushing him harder academically."

"That's interesting. Since I have been here, you two have been tied at the hip." Tamaki's expression changed again. Was that guilt?

"We both tend to lean on each other. You know how people like us—families like ours—there is no crying when things get tough? You must put on this face like everything is fine, and you are unbreakable—no matter how hard things get."

Éclair did know. With money came an unimaginable amount of stress. If you looked week, the sharks would tear you apart. That was the whole reason the marriage was back on—at least why the Suoh family had come crawling back. She nodded her head and Tamaki continued.

"Well, Kyoya can't hide how he feels from me. At first, he really hated it but now we share the burden. It makes things easier, you know?" He looked lost in thought, but what he was saying made sense.

She didn't like it one bit. Éclair didn't want to cause her Poor Tamaki any grief—there were ways of putting distance between those two, however—and it would be for the best.

"You know you are both going to go your separate ways after high school, right? What will you do then?" It was better if Tamaki thought about this now—maybe he would put the distance between himself and the Ootori boy on his own if he was aware.

Her Tamaki was too sweet for his own good.

"I guess I'll deal with that when it comes. Our families are close though, so I doubt it will be like that."

Tamaki gave her another warm smile, suddenly seeming to realize how discouraging the atmosphere was. "Rumor has it that his father is looking to make a match for him as soon as he graduates. Maybe he will marry someone as lovely as you and we can all go on double dates?"

Éclair chuckled. "That would be lovely." She would tolerate the youngest Ootori's boy's presence for now if it brought peace of mind to her lovely Tamaki. She could encourage there distance from each other in the meantime—and keep Tamaki distracted.

Tamaki seemed to perk up after a few more sips of wine and Éclair was thankful for that. She was also happy to see him get a few bites of food down before they got lost in conversation. Like last time when she had been in Japan, he was a perfect gentleman once he relaxed and kept the conversation going without any help from her.

Éclair wasn't expecting to get butterflies in her stomach once he finally started to flash those smiles at her- or blush when he called her princess and my lady but here she was- acting like an innocent grade school student.

Tamaki sure was a charmer and he continued to charm her on the car ride back to her hotel- holding her hand as they rode back in a comfortable silence. He left her at her door with a chaste kiss on the cheek and she couldn't be happier with how the night had gone.

Her old childhood dream was finally becoming a reality.

0o0o0

Please let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

Tamaki hadn't had a drop to drink since the night of the party. Reduced kidney functions made drinking a no-no—and since his body had a hard time getting rid of the toxins—one drink left him a little more than tipsy.

No doubt Yuuichi was going to lecture him tomorrow for that glass and a half of wine, but right now all he cared about was going to see Kyoya. He had his driver take him across town to the Ootori manor rather than his own house.

The Shadow King had texted him back almost instantly when he had asked if he could come over to talk. For this, Tamaki was grateful, tonight had been stressful.

Éclair had a way about her that just seemed to drain his energy. It had been bad enough last year at the cultural festival. It was worse now that he was sick. The King of the host club tired his hardest to always give people the benefit of the doubt but Éclair made him uneasy.

Uneasy in a way like no one else he had ever encountered did. It wasn't just her obsession with him, no he was used to that. Many of their clients at the host club got a little too attached, though he doubted any of them would want anything to do with him now.

Éclair was a special kind of obsessed—it almost seemed unhealthy. The more they talked, the more apparent it became.

It took a while to reach Kyoya's house through the Tokyo traffic and the blonde was starting to regret the wine when it came time to step out of the back of the limousine. One of the Ootori servants was there to catch him as he stumbled forward, Tamaki accepted the help that was offered to him as they made their way up and into the house from the underground parking garage.

Kyoya was waiting for him just inside the house. His face hardened when he noticed the state Tamaki was in.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tamaki smiled and shooed the servant away as he slowly approached the Shadow King.

He was not kidding.

"Sorry, mommy." Kyoya closed the distance between them quickly and placed a hand on either side of the blonde's face. His touch was tender in comparison to the harsh tone of his words. He gently lifted Tamaki's gaze up to meet his own and scrutinized his lilac eyes as though Tamaki may be trying to hide something from him.

"You're sloshed." Tamaki was feeling that wine but he didn't miss the way Kyoya's eye was twitching.

"Yuuichi told me that if I drank, this might happened. I swear it was just wine with dinner." Tamaki didn't like that worried look in Kyoya's gunmetal gray eyes and took a step forward to wrap both his arms around the Shadow King to avoid his stare.

"Tch. You're an idiot you know that?" Tamaki knew he was forgiven as soon as he felt the Shadow King sigh and kiss his neck quickly. "Let's go to my room before you get caught and they call your Dad."

Kyoya stepped back and watched Tamaki sway before offering his arm. They took one of the servant's staircases and then went the long way to his room to avoid running into anyone. Tamaki was grateful for the fluffy couch close to the door in the Shadow King's bedroom as he sank down into it as soon as the door shut.

Kyoya watched him for a moment before sending a maid to get some water and joining him. Sitting just far enough away as to not raise any suspicion.

"So. Other than being a total moron and trying to poison yourself—how was your date?" Tamaki sighed loudly and Kyoya chuckled. "That bad?'

"Don't you think it's a little weird that she is so excited to marry me?" She hung off his every word and even mentioning anyone else set her off. Her look went from total admiration to almost hatred.

"A lot of girls want to marry you, Tamaki." Kyoya adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Hell—I'm sure there are a few boys that might fantasize about you sweeping them off their feet."

That made Tamaki laugh. He could hardly get out of bed some days—so he wouldn't be sweeping anyone off there feet any time soon. No matter how small they were.

"But would they if they knew how sick I was? That I'm going to have a hard time graduating on time? That I take 12 different medications just to make sure my body doesn't self-destruct? Or that I can sleep for 16 hours and still be tired?" None of that was sexy—especially to teenage girls like Éclair.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I still have a thing for you. Maybe even more now that you don't wake up at the crack of dawn." Kyoya almost managed to say that with a straight face. If Tamaki would have blinked, he would have missed the little smirk.

"But if you didn't know me? If we didn't have a history? I'm just worried she's going to realize what she's signed up for in a few months from now and be miserable." There was no way she could be in love with him, perhaps a memory of who she thought he was, but him as he is now.

"Just how soon is your grandmother planning this wedding?"

Tamaki signed again loudly… To. Soon.

"Before the start of the next term at school. She is already badgering me to pick out a ring—their planning a huge dinner to make a show out of it all." Tamaki watched Kyoya's brows furrow and his eyes fall to the floor.

The blonde knew that this wasn't fair to his poor Kyoya… It wasn't fair of him to come here and complain about all of this to his lover…

Shit, he was drunk.

"That's soon."

Tamaki nodded his head. Too soon. Not enough time for Éclair to see what life was going to be like—not enough time for he himself to adjust—not enough time for He and Kyoya either…

Once Tamaki was married, that had to be the end of what was going on between them and the blonde didn't know what he was going to do. Kyoya made life worth living right now—he was the only person Tamaki loved and trusted completely.

"I don't usually think that my father gives very good advice—" Kyoya shifted so that he could tuck one of his legs up underneath him and face his tipsy friend. "But does have a saying he likes to use at times like these."

"What's that?"

"You can't fix stupid."

Tamaki was pretty sure he had heard the patriarch of the Ootori family say that before. Kyoya continued with a soft chuckle.

"If she is dumb enough to want to marry you without thinking it though that's not your fault. Are you going to give her a hard time if she wants to go back home to France without you in a few years?" No, he wasn't. If she wasn't happy with him, he would send her on her merry little way without a second thought.

"No."

"So quit worrying about it. You're going to make yourself sick." Just as the words left his mouth, the maid returned with the requested water as well as a few snacks for the boys to munch on. They both politely thanked her and waited for the door to close before speaking again.

"Even if she is happily married to me, I still think she's is a little batty. She's obsessive." Tamaki sipped on the water Kyoya offered him—he didn't realize how dry his throat really was.

"If your grandmother knew how unstable she is, wouldn't she call the whole thing off?" Kyoya poured him another glass of water and waited patiently for his response while he took another few sips.

"I don't think the Suoh group can afford to make an enemy out of her family. If we called it off, her parents would make trouble for us." Kyoya would understand how much trouble the Tonneirr family could cause better than anyone.

"It looks like there isn't much ether you nor I can do to change anything." The Shadow King adjusted his glasses and Tamaki frowned.

He wasn't wrong. Currently, they could only grin and bear it.

Tamaki closed his eyes. This was frustrating, really, really frustrating. He knew that he shouldn't be here right now, shouldn't be encouraging this between them.

Hell, they both knew it. They were both frustrated. Both wanted this and knew it wasn't an option for long… Tamaki didn't want to ask Kyoya for anything more then he had already been given, but before he realized what was happening he was moving to crawl into the Shadow Kings lap.

Straddling his hips, he pressed their lips together longingly as their bodies melted together. They stayed like that for a while, and when they did break apart, Tamaki leaned lazily forward to rest his head on Kyoya's shoulder.

"You taste like wine."

"Sorry, mommy…" A cool hand ran up Tamaki's back and curled his short blonde hair.

"I won't tell on you. You need to tell Yuuichi when you go for your appointment tomorrow. Understood?" Tamaki chuckled and nodded.

"Only if I can stay with you tonight."

"I thought that was why you came here in the first place moron. You can stay here whenever you want."

They stayed like that in a comfortable silence for a while. Tamaki almost dozed off before Kyoya suggested they move to the bed if they were going to call it a night. He wasn't going to object and reluctantly stood from his warm spot.

Tamaki sat at the end of the bed and loosened his tie before starting on the buttons of his short. Kyoya had already been wearing pajamas when he had arrived and disappeared to fetch something more comfortable for the blonde to wear.

Sweatpants and a tee shirt were thrown at the King of the host club and he slowly got redressed under careful supervision from his raven-haired friend. Maybe because he was drunk and wobbly on his feet—maybe because Kyoya wanted to fuck him.

Either way, Tamaki welcomed the attention. He was getting married after all but he wasn't married yet.

The blonde purposefully ignored the shirt that was offered to him and crawled into the bed, laying on top of the covers on his usual side. Kyoya didn't argue and left his glasses on the nightstand, turning off all of the lights before joining Tamaki.

Since Éclair had come into town, they hadn't slept over at each other's houses. Tamaki missed it, having Kyoya next to him in the morning, missed the stolen kisses and warm hugs. He was going to soak it up while he was still able to.

They took up their usual position. Kyoya laid on his back and Tamaki curled around him, resting his feverish head on the Shadow King's cold chest. Any intention of 'heating things up' with Tamaki may have had dissolved as his body relaxed to the sound of the Shadow Kings beating heart.

Nothing was more relaxing, falling fast asleep within minutes.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as the alarm sounded, both Kyoya and Tamaki groaned in unison. The King of the host club was no longer a morning person and wasn't used to getting up so early.

As Kyoya has never been an early riser and was a well-known demon in the morning—the maids left the alarm to blare while they waited outside the room, waiting to be called. Tamaki was thankful that rather than hiding his head under the thick pillow like the blonde was doing currently—he leaned over to shut the screeching monstrosity off.

How late had they stayed up last night? It felt as though he had only just closed his eyes only moments ago.

"Are you coming for the second half of your exams today, Tamaki?" Kyoya had already thrown off the covers and was stretching his arms over his head while he walked to the closet. The King of the host club did manage to peek out from under the comforter and pillows he had hidden under to flee from the sound of the cursed alarm clock, to see just how adorable Kyoya was in the morning.

"I should." Tamaki managed to grumble out after swallowing a few times. He should go to school. If he was ever going to get things even close to how they used to be, he was going to need to try and go to school.

He wanted nothing more than to sleep the rest of the week away, however, he watched as Kyoya took two sets of the school uniform out of the closet and laid them over the foot of the bed before tugging at the edge of the blanket burrito the blonde had so carefully constructed.

"Shower. Breakfast is in half an hour and we leave in an hour." The blonde sighed dramatically, allowing for the blankets to be pulled away. The dramatics helped him cover the fact that he wanted to flinch from the pain of moving his sore body as he sat up.

It was always the worst first thing in the morning. Kyoya knew this and even though he was still in morning zombie mode, he offered a hand to his friend and helped the King of the host club ease on to his feet.

Tamaki repeated this in a loop in his mind to motivate him to walk across the room and get into the shower. He was going to feel better after a shower—he always did. He was going to feel better after stretching and moving around. He was going to get to school today, and when he was done he could go home and sleep.

Once the blonde was on his feet, Kyoya walked ahead of him and started the shower for him, getting a few oversized towels out. It didn't take long for the water to get hot. Tamaki relaxed his feverish muscles under the steaming spray.

It was almost as though the scorching water was defrosting his joints. Slowly, he rolled both of his shoulders, bent and extended his fingers, flexed each ankle, and bent both of his knees. He had to work a little harder on his elbows and wrists but with a little work, they too ached a little less when he moved.

He took longer in the shower then he normally would. While Tamaki didn't want to make them late, it was hard to step out of the warm spray of water into the chilled air of the bathroom. Kyoya swapped places with him after turning the water to a much lower and more agreeable temperature.

Tamaki combed his hair and brushed his teeth, toweling the remainder of the water off before getting dressed in the uniform the Shadow King had set out for him. After all of this, he was finally starting to feel a little human—not well—but nowhere near as ill as he had when he had first woken up.

Just as he heard the shower turn off, Tamaki sat on the foot of the bed and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. Kyoya had been so sweet to plug it in for him last night.

A few text messages from his father made him frown. He hadn't let his father know that he wasn't coming home—his driver had no doubt informed him after dropping Tamaki off at the Ootori estate. Since he had fallen ill, his father had become obnoxiously overprotective of him…

He could deal with it later—after the tests.

Kyoya came out of the bathroom and dressed quickly before crossed the room. Sliding his glasses up his nose and checking the time, Tamaki knew they were behind schedule—his fault. Normally Kyoya would sit in his room and have a cup of coffee while watching the news before going downstairs to eat with his family—they wouldn't have time for that today.

Wordlessly, Tamaki followed his grumpy friend out of his room and they silently made their way down to the dining room. Ever since he had moved to Japan, he had loved spending the night at the Ootori estate. His own family was nothing like Kyoya's and although he understood that each family faced its own demons—he rather liked how close-knit they all were.

Each morning before Kyoya left for school they would all sit together and eat breakfast. Even if the room wasn't filled with conversation, Tamaki rather liked how peaceful it seemed. More often than not, Mr. Ootori would be reading the newspaper and enjoying his morning coffee. Yuuichi looked as though he had just gotten back from a long night at the hospital—or perhaps had slept in his suit? Either way, he looked about ready to crash from exhaustion and was mindlessly nibbling away at his scrambled eggs while he scrolled through his phone. Akito had already finished his food and was reading through one of his textbooks—he was in his final semester of med school and Kyoya had mentioned that he was preparing to take the final exams.

Kyoya took his usual seat across from Akito, leaving Tamaki to sit across from the exhausted eldest child. No one seemed surprised at the blondes unexpected appearance, continuing on as though they would any other day.

The normalcy of it all was comforting. The food was delicious as always—and after a few side glares from the Shadow King—Tamaki actually finished his food. He had Kyoya leave for school a few minutes early to beat the worst of the morning rush.

Tamaki was starting to get a tad bit nervous as the car pulled up to the front of the school. He was thankful when Kyoya squeezed his hand reassuringly before he opened the door to the car and stepped out—effectively shielding Tamaki from the few other students who were making their way inside.

Tamaki was thankful—it was strange. Normally he loved being the center of attention though today, he just wanted to get through these tests so he could go home. Never had the thought of socializing with his peers exhausted him—but he didn't think he could deal with playing 20 questions on repeat with the students.

They made there way inside with little issue. A few of the girls seemed to get excited when they saw he and Kyoya walking through the hallway, but Kyoya's polite smile kept them from approaching as they made their way to the west wing where the second years had most of their classes.

Tamaki was thankful to see that the classroom he would be taking the second half of his exams in was empty, save for a teacher's assistant that would be administering the test. Kyoya set his bag down for him and looked at the clock before sighing.

"I'll have to be heading to class. Text me when you're done ok? We'll get lunch."

"Sure thing mommy. Good luck at work!" Tamaki cooed as his friend turned to leave.

Kyoya shook his head but didn't respond as he left. The blonde was left smiling even though he was exhausted and not looking forward to his exams today. His smile made it through most of the morning but by the end of his exams, he was feeling defeated.

Tamaki was well aware that he was behind his classmates when it came to school work. While he normally sat at the head of the class—just behind Kyoya—he had a feeling these latest results were going to drop him towards the bottom.

He was sure the exams he had taken yesterday had already been graded and he would probably be reprimanded sooner rather than later for his performance. School had always been easy for him but even studying was becoming more difficult with his lack of stamina.

As soon as he had turned in the last of his exams he was utterly drained. He didn't know if the current nagging nausea in his stomach was from nerves or just his body being difficult again. It didn't really matter he supposed. Before he had a chance to pull his phone out of his school bag though, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tamaki."

"Chairmen." Tamaki didn't have to turn around to know that it was his father who standing behind him. Only his father managed to sound friendly, yet angry at the same time.

"Come with me to my office, son. We need to talk." The blonde glanced at the staff member who had started to grade his work and decided now was probably not the place to talk back—no matter how annoyed he was.

Wordlessly, the King of the host club packed up his belongings and followed his father out of the room.

Again—while the students watched with interest as Tamaki passed by them in the hallway—none of them approached. Not while he was with his father.

A few turns and an elevator ride later and Tamaki was sitting in the plush chair across from his father's desk, fiddling with the hem of his uniform while his father watched him. the blonde could see the concern in his dad's eyes but tried to ignore it.

This was not a new setting for them. Tamaki had found himself sitting in this chair numerous times since he had first moved to Japan. It was always an uncomfortable experience that the blonde would do almost anything to avoid.

They were going to have 'a talk' about whatever it was that Tamaki was doing to upset his father or grandmother…

"Am I in trouble or are you just trying to make me anxious?" The King of the host club looked up from his lap just in time to see his father frown.

"Why? Did you do something to get yourself in trouble?" Yuzuru rubbed his temples as his son shifted uncomfortably.

Tamaki didn't answer him and decided to instead focus his attention on counting the tiles on the floor.

"Well, that's reassuring… No, you're not in trouble. We have… Arrangements to make."

"Oh." Tamaki didn't look up. He would much rather be eating lunch with the hosts right now…

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Tamaki was exhausted and wanted to go home and sleep. His stomach hurt and he was slightly dizzy whenever he stood. he was achy and didn't want to be here.

"I'm glad you are improving." Tamaki nodded and his father rubbed his temples. They fell into another long silence and the blonde continued to try and ignore the look of hurt in his father's tired stare.

Maybe he was being a brat right now but he honestly didn't know how else to act. It was frustrating enough to have to deal with feeling sick all of the time without thinking about how he was tearing his father's heart out just by existing at the moment.

He just didn't want his father to only focus on the fact that he was ill—he wanted his dad to go back to ignoring him and being too busy with work to have dinner. He didn't want to stress him out… He didn't know how to change there dynamic anymore.

Eventually, the Chairmen cleared his throat and Tamaki again glanced up.

"We heard from Éclair that she had a lovely time with you last night. You were quite the gentlemen." Tamaki met eyes with his father and held his gaze for a moment. At least they were talking about something besides his health.

"I made sure she had a nice time." He shouldn't have had that wine but it hadn't hurt his hosting abilities.

"Well, your grandmother seems to think that since your two are getting along so well that you need to go ahead and make things official." Yuzuru sounded annoyed but his face didn't show any hint of his lack of patients for his mother.

Tamaki knew that they were butting heads when it came to this whole Éclair business. Tamaki didn't want to be a part of the argument—he was going to do whatever was decided to be best for the family.

"Ok. I take it she's planning it then?" His grandmother had a very specific way she pictured everything happening. It took some of the stress off his shoulders with having to plan anything romantic—so he wasn't going to complain.

"Yes. She just sent out invitations to a dinner with the Tonnerre's and a few of our important business partners. She wants you to do it then." The chairmen went back to rubbing his temples and Tamaki turned to look out of the window.

"Éclair is fine with it happening so soon?" He knew this wedding was going to be rushed. They wanted him married before the news got out about how ill he really was—but they were still only in high school.

"She's smitten with you."

"So are half the girls in this school…" Tamaki sighed. She was only a first year in high school after all… he hoped she wouldn't end up regretting her decision.

"You're not wrong there." His father smiled slightly, and Tamaki relaxed a bit. "If you want, I can put my foot down on this and have her sent home but there isn't going to be a third chance."

Tamaki wasn't going to lie. That sounded like a pretty good idea. He didn't have the energy for this nonsense with Éclair but they needed her.

"What do you guys need me to do?"

"Make a choice. Your grandmother is planning everything down to what you're going to be wearing. We just need you to decide on a ring."

At least that wouldn't be too hard Tamaki thought. "Ok."

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted the ring I gave your mother or—"

"No. I'll get her something new." Tamaki didn't mean to cut his father off. There was no way he would be giving his mother's ring to Éclair. Maybe he could pass it on to his children—but he wasn't going to give it to some woman he was being forced to marry.

"I thought I would give you the option."

"It's fine. I'll get her something this weekend ok?" Tamaki stood up from his seat and headed towards the door. He didn't know why he was suddenly upset—but he wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment. The room seemed suddenly uncomfortably small for two people.

"Ok son. Do you want me to wa—"

"No. Have a good day Dad. I'll see you later." Tamaki closed the door behind himself before his father had a chance to come after him. He walked quickly away from the staff offices.

His legs were aching by the time he made it to the club room. He was thankful that the lights were off and the room was empty when he opened the door. Sitting down, he tossed his bag on to the couch next to him and pulled out his cell.

Texting Kyoya to let him know where he was, he tossed his phone aside as well and leaned back against the plush cushions of the couch, closing his eyes. He could hear his pulse racing in his ears as he breathed slowly.

He didn't know why he was so flustered. Why wouldn't his father ask him if he wanted his moms ring? Tamaki swallowed hard and tried to focus on his breathing. He thought about his mother a lot, he missed her every day.

He remembered admiring her ring when he would hold her hand at her bedside. She had loved to tell him the story about how his father had taken her to a little hole in the wall jeweler in Paris to pick it out together right after she had found out that she was pregnant.

He couldn't stand the thought of Éclair wearing her ring… It reminded him that his mother wasn't around to wear it herself and—

"Were the tests really that hard?" Tamaki felt cool hands brush his cheek, making him open his eyes to see Kyoya leaning over him with a soft smile. The Shadow King brushed another tear away before kissing the blonde's forehead and sitting next to him.

"No."

"Not feeling well?" Kyoya adjusted his glasses and watched the blonde scrub at his face with his palms before sitting up.

"That's not it. My dad is stupid." Kyoya didn't look surprised.

"Well, now we know where you get it from." Tamaki chuckled and shook his head. Leave it to Kyoya to cheer him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Fam! Sorry I forgot about this lovely for a little while I have been distracted by a few of WIP I have going. Lots of love!


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Ouran.**

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"Are you certain you have been taking your medication as prescribed?" Yuuichi was frowning at the blood work he had gotten back for Tamaki. He had been trying to find a cocktail of drugs that would keep the teen's immune system in check with little luck.

In the last 5 years, there had been a lot of breaks through in the world of medicine for people like Tamaki. None of these new medications were bringing his body in check so that he could have a normal lifestyle and Yuuichi was running out of options.

The heavy immune suppressants were meant to get a relapse under control, not treat the illness day to day. They had terrible side effects and could cause more harm than good if Tamaki were to come in contact with a strong virus.

After 6 months of on and off use, Tamaki's body needed a break. They were particularly hard on the stomach and the headaches the boy had been having were nothing to sneeze at. His life was still far from normal.

The good news was that his kidneys were functioning almost normally again which had been a miracle. The dialysis had given them enough of a break that they were able to heal and the blonde had narrowly escaped having to go through getting a transplant. They just had to get his immune response down and they should be able to manage things from there on out.

"Yes." Tamaki smiled at him warmly. He was running a slight fever but there was still some pink in his cheeks.

"And you haven't been over excreting yourself? Sleeping enough?" Grabbing one of the nurse's stethoscopes he pressed it to the blonde's chest and listened carefully to his breathing.

"Does getting ready for a wedding count as overexerting myself?" Tamaki chuckled. Yuuichi had banned him from doing a lot of things, getting married was not one of them.

"Maybe that's why we're not getting the results we want. Terrified to get married?" The eldest son of the Ootori family was happily single. He didn't have much advice to give in that department but he assumed it was a large stressor.

"No way you can write me a doctor's notes to skip it is there?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that." Yuuichi liked to see his patient in a good mood and joking. "Any new symptoms?"

"I've been getting pretty bad stomach aches lately. My head is trying to murder me—oh and my chest randomly feels like someone is twisting a knife in it." Perfect. Yuuichi took down a few notes before adjusting his glasses.

"I'll call your father and let him know about your blood results and that you need to have less stress. We can switch the pain medication you're on for the headaches to something less harsh on the stomach. Make sure you're taking your medicine with food though—" Yuuichi finished scribbling on his prescription pad and handed it to one of the residents to have them fill it. "We're going to get you in for a chest scan, those stabbing pains sound like they might just be from anxiety, but we're going to play it safe."

Tamaki nodded, uninterested. He had gotten used to going with the flow and being sent for all sorts of random tests.

The blonde had been sleeping a lot but didn't feel well rested at all. He couldn't wait for this appointment to be over so he could go home and crawl back into bed. Tonight was supposed to be a big night for him—he was supposed to propose to Éclair.

He hadn't seen or spoken to her since they had been out to dinner, and he wasn't particularly excited to be seeing her tonight. He had never dreamed of his wedding before, never imagined how he would propose to a girl, he had never had a reason to until now. Éclair was the type of girl that has been thinking about her wedding since the time she was a little girl though.

He had to make this special for her. She was giving up a lot for this marriage. Tamaki honestly had no idea why she would agree to it in the first place.

Yes, the Suoh family had money—their children would inherit unfathomable wealth and they would be well supported. Éclair came from money though. He couldn't think of a single thing that would be a plus for her in the match and he had spent quite a few hours these last few days dwelling on it. From every angle, she was getting the raw end of the deal.

He was going to have to use all of his skills to give her a fairytale ending she had no doubt been dreaming of her entire life.

Once he was cleared to go home Tamaki changed into something more comfortable for lounging and curled up on one of the couches in the library with his laptop. He had been neglecting his studies and his grandmother was not cutting him any slack. As of now, he was about 3 months behind his peers, and that just wouldn't do.

Learning came easy to the blonde, but he could only look at the bright screens for so long before his head started to pound. He didn't have any interest in the lunch that was offered to him and instead chose to snooze before their guests arrived.

As he made his way through the second estate he smiled at how hard the staff was working to make this night spectacular. At his request, they had decorated with white roses and lilacs from the guardian and their sweet aroma was heavy in the air as he made his way through the hallways.

Taking a quick shower, he crawled into bed and pulled the covers over his head. His chest was starting to hurt and try as he might, he was having a challenging time drifting off. Nothing was worse than exhaustion and insomnia working together to torture him.

He hadn't gotten any worse these last few weeks—but he hadn't improved at all. Just hovering in a constantly achy and fatigued state. He had been having between 3 and 4 migraine days a week, forcing him to rest in dark, quiet haven his room had created for him.

When he did emerge from his layer he was struggling to catch up on school work and social obligations. Merculusly—he hadn't needed to see Éclair since the last time he had taken her out to dinner. She had gone home to France for a few weeks to take her finals in school, leaving Tamaki with one less thing to worry about.

The blonde was still feeling guilty about ignoring the host club for the most part. The twins had started a group chat for all of them to try and keep Tamaki included in the day to day running of the club—he loved reading their messages when his eyes were not to light sensitive from his headaches.

He didn't often get to participate due to the fact that he was sleeping for the majority of the day, but when he was able to, he actually felt like things were returning to normal. Tamaki was thankful that the hosts were understanding and didn't seem bothered by his lacking presence in club activities.

He was even more grateful that Kyoya was doing such an amazing job of managing everything. The Shadow King was not only single-handedly keeping the host club afloat, but was also helping Tamaki get caught up with his school work.

Tamaki rolled over and sighed loudly. He was asking a lot of Kyoya but he didn't know what he would do without him… This engagement business—the school work—the constant doctor's visits and medications—he didn't know how he could do this if he was still all by himself.

High strung or not—it didn't matter. Soon enough the blonde had dozed off.

The next time Tamaki opened his eyes it was to his father standing at the foot of his bed looking rather unimpressed. "Have you done anything to prepare for tonight at all? Honestly, Tamaki, you are going to give your grandmother a heart attack."

"You don't like the flowers?" Tamaki sat up and rubbed his eyes. "And I'll have you know that I was getting my beauty rest." Reluctantly, he shoved the covers to the side and got to his feet. His knees were not happy to be bearing any weight at the moment and were aching rather badly as he walked over to the outfit his father had brought him.

"Your grandmother had this made for you, it compliments Lady Eclairs dress." Yuzuru watched his son walk with a slight limp. He had gotten the call from his doctor this morning. He just wanted this wedding to be done and over with so that it wouldn't affect his son's health.

"That was sweet of her. Who all is going to be at dinner?" The blonde yawned and examined the clothes more closely.

"Our most important business partners, the bigwigs in the company, a few important stockholders… Some other people your grandmother thought should be here to witness you signing your life away." Yuzuru sighed and took a seat on one of the couches. The guests would be arriving within the hour.

"I don't think I'm the one signing my life away, father." Tamaki chuckled.

"I was not happily married to the woman your grandmother chose for me. I don't imagine that you will be any luckier then I was." The woman had been just like Éclair. Not as beautiful, but controlling and jealous. Isolating him from his friends.

"The one you left for Mom?" The blonde started to pull his tee shirt over the top of his head. His father had never really talked about her. "What happened to her after the divorce?"

"She moved back with her mother and we pay her a handsome paycheck." Yuzuru would have been better off staying married to her, though he never would have been able to bring Tamaki to live in Japan with him. "Can I offer you some advice?"

"Of course." Tamaki didn't get to hear his father tell stories very often.

"Chances are, you're never going to fall in love with Éclair. This is a business transaction. Treat it as such." Tamaki frowned and Yuzuru sighed. "You don't need passionate love to raise a family or run a business. You need a partner. Éclair will be a good business partner. She had the mind for it and her bloodlines are good."

"So why did you leave your wife then?" Tamaki finished up dressing and came to sit next to his father.

"I was naive. I thought that Love was the main ingredient that we were missing."

Tamaki didn't know if he could ever truly love Éclair. She was like any other girl that he hosted too. He was sure that he could make her happy if he played his part—he owed that to her at least.

"Well, I don't plan on having a mistress and raising a love child on another continent." Tamaki laughed and gave his father a smile.

"Good. You know how well that turns out." Yuzuru chuckled as well before standing and helping his son to his feet. They both made their way downstairs to greet the guests that would be arriving shortly.

By the time everyone had arrived Tamaki felt as though he as dead on his feet. Normally, he loved to entertain but all of the smiling and polite small talk were taking their toll on him. This was the first time that many of his father's business associates had seen him since he had fallen ill, and while they had done their best to keep that information hushed, rumors had been swirling.

It didn't help that all their children attended the same school. The fact that a sizable number of Ouran Students were in attendance of the dinner party spiked his anxiety. Everyone in the host club, accept Haruhi, was also in attendance. Tamaki had been so relieved to see them and they were doing wonders in helping him out of uncomfortable conversations.

The Tonneirr's were the last to arrive, fashionably late of course, and Tamaki made a show of greeting Éclair warmly. Kissing both of her cheeks, he held her hand as he led her across the room to meet a few of her future classmates.

Of course, other than the hosts that knew what was the real reason behind this evening merriment, their classmates seemed very surprised at the special treatment Tamaki was giving Éclair in comparison of the other girls.

Éclair was wearing a burgundy gown that complimented her hourglass figure. Her hair was pulled into a tight, neat bun at the top of her head. Her bangs were clipped back, showing off her sharp cheekbones and beautiful eyes. It was obvious that some of the girls felt envious.

As the night progressed, Éclair seemed to relax more and more. Tamaki was happy to see her getting along with everyone. Even the twins were being friendly towards her and that was a huge step for them. She even laughed at a few of their stories. She was pretty when she laughed.

The adults had been watching the two of them carefully. Many of them knew that Tamaki was going to propose, and they patiently waited as the night went on. The blonde knew it was time to move things along when his grandmother had started glaring at him.

Tamaki waited for a moment to interrupt and invite Éclair out onto the balcony to look at the roses. He couldn't do it in front of the host club, in front of Kyoya especially.

The blonde didn't know why he was so anxious. It wasn't as if she was going to say no. His hands were shaking as he opened the glass door that led out onto the balcony, and he felt as though he was going to throw up.

Being sure to close the glass door before walking over to the railing, he gazed out at the beautiful rose garden and waited for Éclair to join him. "I wanted to talk to you Miss Éclair, but it was a little harder than I had expected with everyone staring at us. I guess I'm shyer than I thought."

The blonde chucked lightly but Éclair didn't say anything. Wordlessly she same to stand next to the heir to the Suoh group. She already knew what was happening. He figured he might as well just come out with it—the setting was perfect and he could spend the rest of the night romancing her away from the rest of the guests.

"Well, I have a question to ask you." Turning to face the French beauty Tamaki got down on one knee, ignoring his bodies protest as he did so. "–And it sure is asking a lot." He removed the ring from his pocket and opened the small, black leather box. "Will you have me Miss Éclair?"

Blue eyes initially widened as they made contact with Tamaki's before her gaze was quickly shifted to the floor. Tears began to well at the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks as she nodded hesitantly. Try as he might, Tamaki had no idea if these were tears of joy or if the reality of what a marriage to him would mean was finally hitting her.

Tamaki forced himself to his feet, fighting through the wave of dizziness and pain in his joints, he slid the ring onto the correct finger before pulling her into a tight embrace. He waited a few moments for her to compose herself, and when that didn't happen he kissed her forehead. "Dearest? Why are you crying?"

"O-oh my…" Éclair tried to wipe the tears away without smearing her makeup. The blonde offered up his handkerchief and took a seat on one of the benches, pulling his future bide with him so that he could wrap an arm around her.

For the first time that night Eclairs smiled for him as she dabbed at her damp cheeks. "It's silly really…"

"What's silly? I don't think a beautiful young lady crying is silly at all." Especially not when there was a room full of guests watching the special unfold.

"It's just for the longest time I waited for this day, and then a year ago it all came to an end. I mean I was so happy… but you wanted to be with that commoner… and now it's really, truly going to happen." Éclair said as she looked at her hands.

"I don't think that's silly at all. Little girls all over the world dream of their wedding, and what I did to you was horrible and unfair. I shouldn't have played with your heart like that." He wasn't sure why she had become so attached to him so quickly, but he never meant to harm her in any way.

"That's not what I meant exactly, I doubt that you would remember it. After all, it happened so long ago." Éclair dabbed at another stray tear and the blonde kissed her cheek.

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow, my lady."

"We went to the same elementary school, you know." She was frowning again and the blonde stayed silent to allow her to get it all out. "You were so friendly back then. You wanted to be friends with everyone and you loved to play make-believe."

He honestly could hardly remember any of his classmates from elementary school. His mother fell ill not long after he had started school and he had blocked a lot of it out.

"I remember one day—some of the older boys were picking on me, and you came to my rescue. From then on, we used to play together a lot, little games where I would be the princess and you would be the one to come and save me—" Éclair started to fidget with her engagement ring and she smiled at him.

Tamaki was left feeling dumbstruck. Mixed feeling coursed through his body. Mostly he felt mortified for not remembering someone he had had such a profound impact on. "Really? I had no idea…"

"I know. But it's silly that I'm still hanging on to a kindergarteners crush for all these years. But after your mother fell ill you rarely ever played with the other children. You would sit by yourself and draw pictures for her, or stay in the music room practicing piano for her… Sometimes you would let me come and listen to you practice." Tears started to slip down her cheeks again and Tamaki took the handkerchief to wipe them away.

The guilt he felt at this moment was overwhelming. "It seems I've always been quite cruel to you. I'm sorry. I should remember someone who had been such a good friend."

"I don't blame you. You were only five or six, besides, that's how you're supposed to react at that age when something so… damaging… happens." She choked out the last part as she brought her hands up to cover her face.

"No. it's not ok." The blonde wrapped both his arms around her and hugged Éclair tightly. "It obviously hurt you and I rubbed salt in the wound with my behavior at the cultural festival." Tamaki could feel her start to tremble.

"T-that's not i-it. Th-that's not why I'm cr-crying." She hiccupped loudly.

"Please tell me Éclair." Tamaki had never once in his entire existence made someone cry like this. He didn't know what to do to make it better, her emotions were just overflowing. He hated himself for thinking it, but from inside things must look terrible. The entire party was watching them from the ballroom.

"N-now that I h-have you, I don't want to lose you to the same thing I did before, I don't want you to get taken away b-because of the same illness." She was crying hysterically now. The King of the host club felt his heart instantly break as he listened to her sob.

This was all his fault. This poor girl was broken because of him and there wasn't a single thing he could do to fix it at this point. Never in a million years would he intentionally do this to another human being.

There was no magic cure for his autoimmune disease. His body didn't have the strength to whisk Éclair off her feet and take her to a place where all this pain could no longer affect her. He could only sit here and watch as she trembled and clung to him for dear life.

He waited to for the shacking and weeping to stop before lessening his embrace. With tears in the corners of his own eyes, Tamaki leaned forward and pressed their lips together. "I'm sorry Éclair. I'm so sorry."

She didn't bother to wipe at her tears this time as she locked eyes with the King of the host club. "I told you it was silly—I'm just being overly emotional."

"No, my sweet princess." Tamaki took a deep breath. "I should have been more considerate to your feelings."

Éclair nodded slowly. She looked down at her engagement ring and smiled. "Thank you, Tamaki. You really are as sweet as they say."

The blonde helped his future bride get cleaned up and the two of them made their way back inside. Tamaki felt a stabbing pain in the center of his chest and his vision dotted black any time he moved to suddenly. He needed to go lay down but the night was far from over.

Upon re-entry of the ballroom, the young couple received a round of applause. Either they didn't notice Éclair ball her eyes out, or they were ignoring it. They walked hand in hand and happily chatted with everyone.

Éclair proudly showed off the engagement ring that was 'just what she had always dreamed of', while Tamaki received marriage advice from the gentlemen in the room. It was nearly midnight before their guest had started to depart, and Tamaki finally had time to slip out of the spotlight.

Sitting in one of the few quiet spots on the first floor of the second estate, it wasn't long before he was joined by Kyoya.

"Well, she said yes." The Shadow King adjusted his glasses and looked at Tamaki carefully.

"How bad did it look from inside?" A dark chuckle escaped the King's lips before he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"It looked like she had a mental break down. We all thought that the pressure had finally gotten to her and she would refuse." The matter-of-fact tone he used comforted Tamaki. It must have been uncomfortable for Kyoya to watch, given their recent history.

"Not the pressure. Turns out I'm just a terrible person." The blonde watched as the Shadow King raised both of his eyebrows.

"Where on earth did you get that impression?"

Sitting up a little too suddenly Tamaki sighed and cradled his forehead in his hands. His vision was starting to go black. "But I am… I'm always making everyone, including you, worry about me. I'm selfish and I don't think about how my actions affect the people around me until it's too late… I was so horrible to her- all those years- she waited all those years and I just pushed her aside- and now-now I can't give her what she really wants- I can't be a good husband- or a good father- it's all my fault-my fau-" Tamaki's body slumped against Kyoya as he lost conciseness.

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**Please let me know what you think! I haven't gotten any negative feedback yet? I would love to know what I need to improve on!**


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